The Seeds of Chaos
by bluerain1984
Summary: (IYxYGO; repost; Last of 'Chaos Series') Time unravels... Destinies unfold... And the seeds of chaos are sown....
1. Prologue

AN: I know we've pretty much been bouncing around different mini fics and one shots, but no more! You heard me folks, the Chaos Series is truly coming to it's end, just as it began. This one may tak a while, but it'll be worth it.   
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-yasha or Yu-Gi-Oh. They belong to Rumiko and Kuzuki Takahashi. I hope ya'll will like this story.   
  
The Seeds of Chaos  
  
Prologue.  
  
Vash lay dieing on the floor of the cave as lava poured into chamber, filling it with heat, smoke, and fire. He laughed, yes, he laughed for this was not the end. Not by a long shot was his fortune so terrible. There was one waiting there in the shadows for him to call. One who had been with him since the earliest days of his life. The one who had given him the jewel shards that had saved both his and Viola's lives.  
  
"I knew you would come for me father." He said raising his head.  
  
"My son, it is time for you to return to me." the shrouded figure said as he absorbed the boy back into his body. "I will allow your sister to live for a time, but for now she on her own, as I am too weak to go after her. This body of mine is old and there are no more demons for me to absorb and make me whole again. Therefore I must call all my children and grandchildren back to me. It will begin in Tokyo, where they dwell, and all shall return to me from whence they came."  
  
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Joey couldn't sleep. He'd tried, but something kept nagging at him. When he'd gotten up, he felt a need to hold the Millennium Key. He got the curious Item from his lock box, went to his window, and looked out over Domino, to the horizon, where Tokyo's lights glowed like the Aurora Borealis. His thoughts were suddenly turning to concern for his friends in Tokyo. From both times.  
  
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Kagome bolted out of bed, gasping for air. She felt like she couldn't breathe. She'd dreamed about…that time again. About the first timeline that had been erased…About… She shook her head. She didn't want to think about that. Any of it. She was with Inu-yasha. She had her friends from the Feuding States Era, and from Domino in this time. She would not let a nightmare get in the way of that. And yet… It was a nightmare in the first time that had started all this. 


	2. Tempus Vernum

AN: For those of you who want action, here it is!  
  
Chapter One.  
  
"Get out of here, you, right now!" Kagome's grandfather shouted as he chased Inu-yasha from Kagome's room early one morning.  
  
"Hey, what's the big deal?" Inu-yasha asked as he ran for his life from the broom wielding maniac.  
  
"I told you before that if I ever caught you sleeping in Kagome's room again, I'd have you neutered! Now get out of here and go back to your own time and wait for her!"  
  
"Gramps don't hurt him!" Kagome shouted as she ran outside in her pajamas. Inu-yasha ran screaming from the house with Kagome and her grandfather following close behind.  
  
"I'll be dead and in my grave before I'll see some han-you freeloader soil my granddaughter's honor!" Kagome's grandfather yelled.  
  
"I never touched her, I promise!" Inu-yasha squealed. "All I did was sleep at the foot of her bed! I do that every night!"  
  
"Oh, the shame that has befallen my poor family since that horrid day you crawled out of the well!" Gramps cried, grabbing his head. "I will not stand for this indignity any longer! If you want to see Kagome, you will call on her in a suitor's fashion!" He threw a cooking pot at Inu-yasha's head. The han-you ran into the mini shrine, and leaped down the well.  
  
When Inu-yasha was gone, Kagome's grandfather turned to Kagome and scolded her. "Oh Kagome, why didn't you stay with that nice Joey, fellow. He was a good boy and never did anything except to eat and be friendly and he never once slept at the foot of your bed."  
  
"No, but there were plenty of offers for me to sleep in his." She muttered under her breath, remembering a time when her friend Joey Wheeler had invited her to a very exclusive boy/girl sleepover but Joey's father had conveniently ordered that he bring only one guest.  
  
'"You see I was going to have all my friends over but my old man said he didn't want a whole lot of noisy kids around, so I can only invite one very special person and I wanted it to be very, very special person."' Joey had said on that day. An offer to which Kagome had greatly expressed no such desire to take him up on.  
  
"That jerk, and where are Yugi and the others today anyway?" Kagome wondered, later as she finished getting dressed.. She was supposed to meet them that morning and go to the mall with them but here it was after eight that morning and they hadn't shown up.  
  
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"So that date you had the other day, how'd it work out Yugi?" Joey asked as he and his diminutive friend sat outside of Tristan's apartment. "Was Tea good, or was she more than you could handle?"  
  
"No way, I got to second base with her." Yugi bragged, though in actuality he'd only gotten a kiss on the cheek when the date was over.  
  
"You Dog, tell me everything!" Joey insisted but just then Tea came walking up the street and ended their conversation.  
  
"Hey guys, Tristan still not up yet?" Tea asked when she walked up in her platform heels. She was wearing a short skirt, platform heels, and a jacket.   
  
"Naw, he's probably still sleepin," Joey said. The wind picked up, and he buttoned his letterman jacket. "Geez, it's too cold for late summer," he muttered.  
  
"Tell me about it," Tea said, zipping her jacket up. "And the weatherman keeps getting it wrong."  
  
"No surprise there," Yugi remarked. Just then, the door top Tristan's apartment opened. As their friend walked out, they all got up. "Hi guys," Tristan said, "Been waiting long?"  
  
"Yeah," Tea said, "We were supposed to be at Kagome's an hour ago."  
  
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Star sat sleeping in the chair next to Lady Viola's sleeping body. She had not moved from this room since Star's cousin Mai and her friends brought them here. But that was several weeks ago. And Viola had not woken up. Then, she heard a crash. She woke up, and saw her mistress sitting up in bed, her green eyes wide with fear.  
  
"Viola?" Star asked.  
  
"He…He's coming…" Viola said, shaking with dread and fear. "He's coming for me."  
  
"Who?" Star demanded. "Who's coming for you?" She vowed that no matter who it was, she would protect her Lady.  
  
"Fa…Father…" Viola whispered. Then, a mighty wind burst the glass of the windows open. The chairs and bed were thrown against the far wall. When Viola was thrown from her bed, Star tried to catch her, but the girl was raised up into the air by an unseen force.  
  
Then…A figure floated into the room through the broken window. He was shroud in the fur and face of a white baboon. Then, a croaking, old voice came from the figure.  
  
"Viola," he said. "You must come home. Your brother misses you."  
  
"No." Viola said, grabbing for anything she could. She grabbed the onto Star's outstretched hands "I don't want to go back! I want to stay here! I want to stay!!"   
  
"It's too late for that," he said. A section of his shroud opened. It started to suck in everything around them. Star felt her Lady's hands slipping from hers.   
  
"Don't let go of me, Star! Don't let go!!" Viola begged, tears streaming down her white cheeks.  
  
"I'm trying!" Start cried back. But the force of the vacuum was too much. Viola's weak hands slipped from Star's, and the child screamed as she was pulled into the black hole.   
  
When Viola was gone, the hole closed up, and the figure began to laugh, low and slowly. Star's whole body went cold with that laugh. She curled up on the floor, wanting to get away from him so badly…but still hoping there was a way to get her friend back…  
  
"She is gone…" said the figure. "You must accept that. The poor child would not have lived without me, anyway. I was the only thing sustaining her life force, and I could bear it no longer. You humans…So weak…" And he disappeared. The masked coward who'd taken her only friend…was gone.  
  
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"So then, I said," Kagome was telling Tea as she and their group walked along the road from the mall. But their conversation was cut short. They heard police sirens coming up behind them. They turned, and saw a great many police cars whizzing by, heading for the hospital. The police cars were followed quickly by a News van.  
  
"What's all that about?" Tea wondered. Then, they were passed by a large group of people. They were heading to an electronics store. They followed the mob, and pushed their forward to the see the TV's in the window.   
  
An anchorman stood talking with police, and tuned to the camera, and said, "Only moments ago, from this hospital, the notorious leader of the international gang, known as The Rare Hunters, Miss Viola Shepherd, was taken by a mysterious man, with apparent gift of flight. The only witness, Viola's guard, Star Valentine, refuses to speak of what she witnessed. All we know, is that the only suspect is the girl's supposed father. More on this story in twenty minutes."   
  
Kagome turned to Yugi, and said, "Weird."  
  
"Totally," Yugi said. "WHy would Viola's own father kidnap her?"  
  
"Could the Rare Hunters be behind this?" Tea asked.  
  
"I don't think so," Yugi said, "Last I heard from Ishizu, the rest of the Rare Hunters are still loyal to her brother, and have honored his wishes to disband."  
  
"Then who would kidnap her?" Tristan asked.   
  
"Let the police handle it," Joey said. "We left that stuff behind with that island." They turned from the store, and continued on to the Shrine. During the whole walk home, Kagome had a very bad feeling about this.   
  
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Inu-yasha lounged in the branch of a tree, on the edge of the village. Again, nothing. It seemed like every time he was home, the hunt for shards and Naraku turned up nothing. And though it meant that things were peaceful, it also made Inu-yasha bored. He was itching for something to do. And worse, Kagiome was in her time, hanging out with her other friends. The han-you jumped from the tree, and started to sharpen his claws on the bark. He felt pathetic! In his frustration, he swiped at the tree a little too hard, and split it in two.   
  
After the tree crashed, he shouted, "What the heck does a guy have to do for a little excitement!!?"   
  
"You swine!" Songo's voice carried over the wind. Inu-yasha turned around, and saw various pots, pans, and other bric-a-brac being hurled about. In all the confusion, a young lady from the village fled the hut, her face redder than a tomato. Then suddenly, Miroku can running out after her, and Songo after him.  
  
"Wait, fairest flower, be not offended by Songo, she's like a sister to me," the monk called after the girl.  
  
"You're dead, monk!" Songo shouted, ready to fling her hiraikotsu at him.   
  
"Not what I had in mind," Inu-yasha said to himself, "But it's better than tedium." The han-you sat back, and watched as Songo soundly thrashed Miroku for his lechery.   
  
"Songo, let me explain!" he begged as she pounded repeatedly on the noggin with her fists.  
  
"Explain? You mean lie! You mean weasel out of! You mean-"  
  
"I'm sorry!!" he cried, covering his head. "I am only a man, cut me a break!"  
  
"I'll cut something, alright!" she said, looming over him. "If you so much as touch another girl like that again-!"  
  
"Have mercy, Songo!" Miroku pleaded. She stared down at him, on his knees, and put away her weapon.   
  
"Fine," she said. "I'll forgive you once more."  
  
"Darn it," Inu-yasha said from the sidelines, "And it was finally getting good."  
  
"Have you nothing better to do than watch us fight?" Songo asked him Inu-yasha.  
  
"Naw, not really," the han-you replied.  
  
"You might try putting in an honest day's work now and again," Miroku suggested.  
  
"This from the guy who's 'honest day's work', includes lechery?"  
  
"My intentions were honorable," Miroku said, "I was counseling the poor girl on a spiritual matter."  
  
"With your tongue halfway down her throat?" Songo asked angrily.  
  
"You said you forgave me," Miroku said to her.  
  
"Oh, that's right, I did," she said, crossing her arms.   
  
"Will you quit making up, I'm bored," Inu-yasha complained. "I might as well go down the well and get Kagome back. At least with her around, nothing's so boring."  
  
"You're going to Kagome's time?" Songo asked, perking up. "May I go with you? Please?"  
  
"Oh, what's got you so eager, now?"  
  
"I simply miss a dear friend," Songo said.  
  
"You want to that boy again, don't you?" Miroku asked, accusingly. "Why must you break my heart every single day? Why must you flee from my arms to his?"  
  
"I thought I was like a sister to you?" Songo said, sarcastically.  
  
"If you're going, then shut up and come on," Inu-yasha said, going into the forest, along the trail they'd made from all the times they'd gone from the village to the well.   
  
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Ryou Bakura went to his bed room window. The day was almost over, and the sun was setting in the west, casting an array of dazzling colors about the horizon. He did not notice when he began to hum. To tell the truth, he didn't even recognize the tune. He simply began to hum. Then, his vision blurred, and he heard other voices humming the same tune he hummed. They were enchanting. And then the voices were accompanied by music. One thought filled his mind…To follow this music. He had to know from where t came.  
  
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Kagome and her friends were sitting in her living room, just hanging out, as usual. They were snaking on all the food available to them in the house (Kagome's mom had learned to keep her cupboards and fridge stocked since back when Kagome had dated Joey), and watching TV. Another dumb reality show, where people did stupid things for a few lousy yen. Then, the show was interrupted by a news bulletin.  
  
"This is a Channel 97 special bulletin," the reporter said. "Filling for our Kate Lynseed tonight is our own Mai Valentine. We go now to the scene were Mai is bringing you live footage of a strange phenomenon."  
  
"Thank Sojiro. Dozens of people have taken to the streets in what looks like a fit of mass hysteria, humming a strange, and eerie tune. I've tried to talk to several of these people, but none seem to respond to anything." She turned to something off camera, and gasped. "Bakura! Bakura, wait, it's me, Mai. Don't you recognize me?" The camera followed her as she tried to stop Bakura, who pushed her aside, and continued on blindly.  
  
"Bakura?!" They all exclaimed.   
  
"This has you-kai written all over it." Inu-yasha said. He grabbed a ball cap, and unsheathed his sword. While Kagome ran up to her room, and grabbed her archery gear.  
  
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"Turn that stupid thing off!" Mai commanded her camera man. He obeyed, and Mai dropped her microphone, chasing after Bakura. She grabbed his arm again, pleading, "Bakura, say something! It's me!" Then, she felt hands lay hold of her. It was two of Kaiba's goons! They were under this same enchantment. They pulled her off of Bakura, and tossed her to the ground on rear.  
  
"Come back here, now!" Setto Kaiba's voice called from behind. Mai got up, and saw him running towards his deserting henchmen. "You come back here this instant, or you're both fired!"   
  
"Kaiba," Mai said. "Do you know what's going on?"   
  
"Of course not!" Kaiba said. "One second I'm working, the next, I'm told that two of my body guards and one of my cooks are leaving the building for no good reason."  
  
"They're humming the same song as Bakura and all these people," Mai said. "And more people are leaving them by the minute."  
  
"Well what do you propose-?" Kaiba said, but someone knocked him in the shoulder as they passed by. He turned to yell at them, and recognized two faces he'd seen from Kagome's school.  
  
"Do you now them?"  
  
"Hojo and Ayumi," Kaiba said. "Their part Kagome's entourage. "  
  
"What should we do?" Mai asked.  
  
"We've got to go after them, and find out what's causing all this," Kaiba said. He and Mai burst into a sprint, following the hoard.  
  
"This song s getting monotonous," Kaiba said after a time of chasing their friend and acquaintances.   
  
"Tell me about it," Inu-yasha said, coming behind them. He was followed by the rest of their group, all prepared for a fight.  
  
"I should have known you'd be here. Trouble seems to follow you wherever you go," Kaiba remarked.  
  
"You got it backwards," Inu-yasha said, running beside him. "I follow trouble. And there's plenty to go around."  
  
"Don't lose you head, Inu-yasha," Yugi/Yami said, catching up with them. His puzzle was glowing brightly. As they ran, Kirara bounded down the street, with Songo, Miroku, and Kagome riding on her back. When the Cat you-kai stopped, they were in front of Bakura, Ayumi, Hojo, and the two stray body guards.   
  
Songo jumped from Kirara's back, and got in front of Bakura. "Ryou," she said, frightened, "It's me, Songo. Speak to me, why are you doing this? Where are you going?"  
  
"Out of my way," Bakura said harshly.   
  
"Hojo, Ayumi, have you both gone nuts?!" Kagome asked her school friends. She walked backwards, in front of them, trying to reason with them. But it was no use.  
  
"They're calling us," Hojo said absentmindedly.   
  
"The music," Ayumi said, "It's so soothing." The two walked on past Kagome, but she followed closely, until them came to Tokyo Tower. Where they all stopped. Kagome looked up, and floating in the sky above them was a woman with long black hair. She had a pipe in one hand, a drum around her neck, and guitar slung on her back. She looked down at them all, and lifted her hands, and began to beat the drum in a loud, steady beat. She opened her mouth, and began to chant in time with her drum beats, and the air filled with a strange melody, nothing like the hypnotic tune before. She chanted, and the people below chanted with her, all in one frightening chorus:  
  
Ergo  
  
Oceanus, maritimus,  
  
Ergo  
  
Opacare, matutinus,  
  
Ergo,  
  
Septentrio, meridies,  
  
Ergo,  
  
Occidens et orientis,  
  
Ergo,  
  
Oceanus, maritimus,  
  
Opacare, matutinus,  
  
Septentrio, meridies,  
  
Occidens et orientis,  
  
Ergo,  
  
Terra, stella,  
  
Hiems et aestas,  
  
Ergo  
  
Autumnus et   
  
Tempus vernum,  
  
Ergo  
  
Radius solis  
  
Et umbra,  
  
Ignis, aqua,  
  
Caelum, luna,  
  
Terra, stella,  
  
Hiems et et aesta,  
  
autumnu et  
  
Tempus vernum…  
  
Tempus Vernum!  
  
"Is she the witch behind all this?" Inu-yasha asked Kagome.   
  
"She must be," Kagome said. "She's the one singing and playing those instruments."  
  
One question," Joey said, behind them, "How come their all affected by her song, and we ain't? There're of people who ain't walking around here 'zombiefied'."  
  
"He's right," Yugi/Yami said, "There's something else at work here. Something sinister." Just , Inu-yasha caught the scent. It was feint, but he knew well. He lifted up his sword, and looked around, wildly.  
  
"Naraku," he snarled. "He's here!" They others looked around, and readied for battle. They all searched the crowd, and the sky for their dreaded enemy as the song continued. Then, they heard him.  
  
"Come to me, my children," his voice said. Though withered and cracked, it was his voice. "Come to me, my children. Come to your father."  
  
AT once, people started to rise from the ground. Kagome looked up, and saw him beside his Siren. He opened his cloak, and a Wind Tunnel appeared in his chest. The black whole began to suck up people from the crowd.   
  
"No!" Kagome shouted. She grabbed Ayumi and Hojo by their ankles by their ankles, and tried desperately to hold them down. But she soon let go of Ayumi. But just as quickly, Tristan grabbed her, and held her down. While Songo and Yugi held down Bakura.   
  
"No…" the you-kai said under his baboon mask. "Inu-yasha…you cannot live?! I destroyed you ages ago…" As the wind picked up, a reaction to Naraku's rage, the mask was blown from his face. It was not the face of the handsome young prince he'd stolen it from…It was the face an old man, withered with age and time.  
  
"What is this?" Inu-yasha demanded, "Another of your tricks?"   
  
"Look on me, Inu-yasha, and see that I have grown old in my years. Without the Jewel and demons to absorb, I am old…and near death…That is why I am calling home all of my children to me. That I might reabsorb them and live again."  
  
"Your children?" Inu-yash said, disgusted. He looked around to the faces, familiar and unfamiliar, who made up the crowd. "You mean that all these are…?!"  
  
"Not all," Naraku said, "Some are, and some once were, in past lives. Now reborn into human form. I have called them home, none the less. And even if you should keep their shells from me, I will still reclaim their souls." At once, those that hadn't been absorbed opened their moths, and the forms of past beings, some that Inu-yasha had actually destroyed, floated up. Kagome saw that Ayumi, her friend, held the spirit of Kagura! The Wind Demoness's form lifted from the girl's body. And Hojo was Kagaromaru…a monster that had eaten a chunk of Inu-yaha's liver once in a battle. Kagome let Hojo's lifless body drop. She began to cry for her friend. Her tears intensified when she heard Tristan beg Ayumi to wake up.  
  
"You won't take them!" Kagome screamed as she let fly a sacred arrow. It's aim was true, and it pierced Naraku through the heart. Though he'd absorbed enough now to look middle aged,. He was still ages old, and to slow and sick to react. When the arrow pierced him, the Siren stopped playing.   
  
"No! I cannot die like this," he said, as the spirits he'd began to summon came to themselves, and saw him. Their faces twisted in fear, and fled back to the bodies they'd inhabited. Save one. The Spirit that dwelled inside Bakura. The spirit of the Evil Bakura, who'd haunted him since he'd gotten the Millennium Ring.  
  
"I will not return to that boy," the spirit said. "I have been held too long in that body."  
  
"Then come to me, Li Zhou," Naraku said, spreading his arms "And be reborn."  
  
"My name," the spirit of the Millennium Ring said. "It's been so long since I've heard it. I've been called many names over the centuries... Amon, The Hidden One…Erebus…and the most detestable of all, Ryou Bakura… It is a great relief to hear my true name! I will return to you, Naraku," he said, "But only if you give me the power to crush my imprisoners! Give me flesh again!"  
  
"It shall be done," Naraku said. He flew down to Li Zhou, and engulfed him. As this occurred, the hundred or so people below began to awaken, and screams of horror filled the night. They were confused, afraid, and knew hey had to get away.   
  
Lightening flashed, and thunder boomed, as Li Zhou pulled himself from Naraku's body. He was still the spitting image of the Bakura, who now awoke.  
  
"Songo…" he whispered.  
  
"Yes, Ryou," she said. "I am here."  
  
"He… he's gone?"  
  
"Not quite, boy," Li Zhou said, lifting his arms, lightening dancing on his fingertips. "I shall punish you for keeping me imprisoned for so long!" He extended his arms, and lightening bolts shot out from his fingers, straight down at Songo and Bakura…  
  
AN: The song featured is 'Tempus Vernum' by Enya. I found it particularly dark and ominous, and perfect for this scene. Review! 


	3. Only Time

AN: Watch out! Bloody battles ahead! Not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach.  
  
Chapter Two: Only Time  
  
Songo grabbed Bakura, and leaped away from the lightening bolts. As Li Zhou geared up to strike again, Setto Kaiba drew out his Millennium Rod from under his jaket, and shot Black Lightening at the you-kai.   
  
"Insolent human," Li Zhou said. "You think you harm me? My Shadow powers are greater than before," He extended his hand, and the Millennium Ring flew out from under Bakura's shirt, and into Li Zhou's hands. "At last, the power is mine again!" As he put Ring around his neck, the storm about them intensified. "Who among you can withstand my power?!"  
  
"How about me!" Inu-yasha shouted as he leaped into the air.  
  
"Not so fast," Li Zhou said, "I summon my Shadow Servants, Marie the Fallen One, Dark Necrofear, Lesser Fiend, and Man-Eater Bug!" With a flip of his hand, the creatures appeared before them. The crowd of people began to panic, and ran from the monsters, screaming and trampling each other under foot.  
  
"Kagome, what's going on?" Ayumi cried, "Where'd your boyfriend get that sword? And why does he have dog ears?"  
  
"Don't be scared, him," Kagome said, comfortingly. "He's here to help."  
  
"I'm not scared of him!" Ayumi shouted. "I'm scared of everything else!"  
  
"Don't worry," Tristan said to Ayumi, "I'll get you out of here." He put his arm around her waist, and grabbed the speechless Hojo's arm, and took them to safety.   
  
Meanwhile, Inu-yasha fought with the Shadow Monsters, but was getting no where.   
  
"Inu-yasha!" Kagome shouted, "He's too powerful!"  
  
"There's only one way to end this," Kaiba said, drawing out his deck, and summoning his own Shadow Powers. "Blue-eyes White Dragon!" he summoned. The dragon appeared with a flash of white lightening, and a clap of thunder.  
  
"Dark Magician!" Yugi/Yami called. He lifted the card, and it disappeared. Then, with a twist of a black tornado, the Dark Magician stood before them as well. "Now, I combine them with Polimerization, to summon the Paladin of White Dragon!" The Magician jumped into the air as Blue-eyes took flight. The Magician's robes disappeared, replaced by silver and gold armor. The Paladin and his dragon swooped in, and easily subdued Marie the Fallen One and Man-eater Bug, but the Lesser Fiend and Dark Necrofear were to powerful. With each attack, they both recovered, and attack the Dragon.   
  
As the monsters fought, Inu-yasha realized that Naraku was just watching! He was sitting there, in mid air, acting like he was watching the TV box. Inu-yasha got an idea. He ran to Kirara, and got on her back.  
  
"Come on, girl," he said. Kirara understood, and she took off into the air. They flew in behind him, and Inu-yasha lifted his sword and the winds merged, and created the Wind Scar.   
  
"NARAKU!!!" he shouted into the hurling winds, "This is for all the lives you destroyed!" and with a single stroke of Tetsaiga, now red with Inu-yasha's rage and power, he split the Wind Scar. He never stood a chance.  
  
When the upraor of the Wind Scar died down, Inu-yasha looked around. He knew, he was certain that he'd made contact. Naraku had to be dead! Then, he saw a piece of the baboon cloak caught on Tokyo Tower. Something fell from it…a piece of a wooden puppet.   
  
Li Zhou stopped. He looked up, and smiled. "It seems Father wants me to come in from my fun and games." He recalled Dark Necrofear and Lesser Fiend. Then, he flew up next to the Siren, and they both disappeared.   
  
"No!" Inu-yasha screamed with rage. "You cowards! Come back, NOW! COME BACK AND FACE ME!!!!"  
  
"Inu-yasha, stop!" Kagome shouted, grabbing hold of his shoulders. "Stop it! They're gone."  
  
"There will be another time, Inu-yasha," Yugi/Yami said as he and Kaiba recalled their monsters. "At least now we know Naraku lives in both times."  
  
"So that was your bitter enemy?" Kaiba said with scorn. "An old man hooded and cloaked in baboon skin?"  
  
"Believe me," Miroku said, glancing at his right hand. "In our time, he is a much more formidable foe."  
  
"Mai," Kagome asked the blonde woman, "Did anyone-?"  
  
"Let me you," Mai said, "If I hadn't seen, I wouldn't have believed it. I still don't believe it. I doubt anyone else will remember this. They'll all go home and write it off as a bit of mass hysteria or some bad dream.   
  
Suddenly, they heard police sirens, and they knew it was time to leave.   
  
"So what do we do with these two?" Tristan asked, still holding Ayumi, and Hojo passed out on the ground. Ayumi was so scared and traumatized that she didn't know what to believe or think or feel.   
  
"Hojo can stay here," Kagome said. "We'll take Ayumi to my house. Are you ok?" she asked her friend She stepped forward to lat a hand on her shoulder, but the girl flinched, as if Kagome's touch would bring back the creatures she'd seen.   
  
--------------------------------------  
  
Naraku lay on the bed, still in pain from the sacred arrow Kagome shot him with. He was sweating heavily, and his body shook with the pain and holy energy…but he was stronger than he'd been in a long, long time. If he had not reclaimed even a few of his incarnations, he'd be dead already. He thought himself fortunate to have replaced himself with his puppet so quickly.   
  
He thought he would never see those accursed faces again… "How can they be alive?" he asked himself. "It's been so long…"  
  
"I'll tell you how," Li Zhou voice said as he materialized in the room.   
  
"Ah…Li Zhou…" Naraku sighed. "My 'black assistant'…. he he…You come to offer me help…or to ease my passing?"  
  
"You named me appley," Li Zhou said as he produced modern medical supplies. "Am I am strong yet, for a quarter blood, as you as are strong for a han-you. But with the power of my Millennium Ring, my Shadow Powers increase. Do you remember, master, why you created me?"  
  
"Yes," he said. "I created you as a part of myself, to capture the Millennium Items. I remember…those young fools brought to me long ago…but time shifted, and I never saw them again…but memory of their power was etched in my mind. I made you, and sent you, to the land of their origin. Egypt… But I never heard from you again. I thought for certain you had abandoned me…as all the others had."  
  
"The Pharaoh's Guardians locked me inside the Millennium Ring, to punish me for attempting to rob the Pharaoh's tomb… ButI gave them quite a battle. The Greeks called Erebus… The Guards themselves dubbed me Amon, the Hidden One when they sealed me away for all those years. But I remained strong, and when Bakura was born, I inhabited his body. The Ring's power sustained me until I was strong enough to take control of his mind and body…But I did not count on the Pharaoh being reincarnated as well." Li Zhou said all these things as he stitched up the wound in his master's chest. "How did you lose the power of the jewel?" he asked.  
  
"I will tell you," Naraku said, "When you tell me how Inu-yasha could still live."  
  
"Always to the point," Li Zhou remarked. He grinned, and started to tell him.  
  
------------------------------------------  
  
The group now sat in Kagome's living room. Ayumi was sitting n the couch, Kagome sitting on her right. They had given her some warm tea, and explained to her the entire story. From the time Kagome was taken down the well, to the hunt for Naraku and the Jewel Shards, to Yugi and his friends' involvement (In this time anyway, Kagome thought. She wouldn't even try to explain the original timeline. The would be confusing for everyone).  
  
"So let me get this straight," Ayumi said to Kagome, "You're the reincarnation of a dead priestess, Yugi's the reincarnation of a Pharaoh, and Kaiba's the reincarnation of some wizard?"  
  
"In a nutshell, yeah," Kagome said, trying to lighten things up with a weak smile.  
  
"So…you're like some weird kinda club huh?" she asked, looking in the bottom of her cup.   
  
"If we are, you're our new member," Inu-yasha said. Came forward, and knelt in front of the girl. "Because you're the reincarnation of a demon I killed," he said, giving her a big, fanged, and positively wicked grin.  
  
Ayumi jumped, squeaked, dropped her cup, and covered her face with her arms. "Please don't hurt me," she begged. "I… I don't think I did anything wrong this time around!"  
  
"Inu-yasha, cut it out!" Kagome scolded him. "You're scaring her."  
  
"She's a mouse!" he said. "If I hadn't seen Kagura come out of her, I wouldn't believe it!"  
  
"I still don't believe it," Kaiba said, leaning against the wall. "But I must admit the powers of the Millennium Items are strong."  
  
Inu-yasha walked over to Kaiba, and soundly thrashed him on his head, repeatedly. As the millionaire kicked around, Inu-yasha said cross, "When are you gonna accept the fact that what ya see's what ya get!?! This stuff's real, buddy! These ears; REAL! These demons; REAL!"  
  
"Unhand me this instant!" Kaiba odered, jerking himself from Inu-yasha's grasp. They got up in each other's faces, and started a growling match.   
  
"He's right," Bakura said, dejectedly. "There was a demon living inside of me, and I have to admit, there was more than one occasion when I willing helped him to get what he wanted."   
  
"WHAT!?!" the whole room exclaimed.   
  
"Bakura, what are you talking about?" Kagome asked him.  
  
"We made a deal that if I helped him get a Jewel Shard, and showed him where the well was… He'd leave my body and mind forever. I was a fool to believe him."  
  
"Did you actually show him how to use the well?" little Yugi asked Bakura.  
  
"Yes." Bakura explained. "I told him that you-kai and han-yous, if their strong enough, can and go through the well…but an ordinary person needs a Millennium Item, a Jewel Shard, or anything truly magical to use the well. He helped me steal the ring from you, Yugi. And I tried to steal Kagome's shards once. The only thing that stopped was Shippo's distraction…but… the damage was done."  
  
---------------------------------------  
  
"So," Naraku said, after listening to Li Zhou's explanation, "That is the secret of the Bone Eater's well." He smiled his bone chilling smile. " And Kagome is truly Kikyo reborn. No wonder they ran to that village after every battle."   
  
"Yes, master." Li Zhou said  
  
"And… I still live in that time?" Naraku asked.  
  
"Yes master," Li Zhou said. "You are strong, and possess most of the Jewel in the time beyond the well."  
  
"If I can get to that time," Naraku said. "I might yet be able to regain all of my power…Ai Suzu," he called. The Siren from earlier that evening appeared with her drum and guitar slung across her back, and flute in hand.   
  
"What is your bidding, master?" Ai Suzu asked.  
  
"Use your music to carry me on the wind." Naraku said, "And summon two of your siblings back from the abyss."  
  
Ai Suzu lifted the flute to her lips, and played a soft, summoning melody. From the void, two beings emerged. Vash and Viola, strengthened anew by their reconnection to Naraku, came forth.  
  
"Now," Naraku said, as Ai Suzu played her flute, to carry her master on the wind, "Let the battle begin."  
  
-----------------------------------------  
  
"Don't worry, Ayumi," Tristan said, putting his arm around her shoulder, "If it helps… I still think you're a great person."  
  
"Cut the crap, Tristan," she said. "Could you really love a demon?"  
  
"Well… Kagome loves Inu-yasha," he pointed out.   
  
"And I love Yugi," Tea said. "Just because you're a reincarnation doesn't mean you can't live a perfectly normal life."  
  
"But you don't live normal lives!" Ayumi said, getting weepy again.   
  
"Uh… She's got a point, there," Joey said.   
  
"Are any more of you reincarnations?" Ayumi asked.  
  
"Oh, no," Kagome said, "They're all brand new. 'Cept Joey."  
  
"That's right!" Joey said, proudly. "I was the Pharaoh's faithful servant! Buds for all eternity."  
  
"Well then," Mai said, with a laugh "How about 'serving;' me a soda."  
  
"I ain't no butler!" Joey said. "I'm a fearless warrior, devoted to defend Yugi forever."  
  
"I sure know how to pick 'em," Mai said. "My best choice in life is a little minion."  
  
"Hey, who love's ya, baby?" Joey asked.  
  
Suddenly, Inu-yasha' ears twitched. He sniffed the air, and his hair stood on end as he started to growl at something out the window. He unsheathed his swrd, and said, "We've got trouble."  
  
"What is it?" Serenity asked, inching closer to Kaiba.  
  
"He's here!" Inu-yasha declared. He got up, and took off running out the door. All but Tea, Tristan, Bakura, Serenity and Ayumi followed. The five of them stayed behind, and watched from the windows.  
  
In the front yard, Li Zhou, and the Siren stood in front of the sacred tree. They stood silently as their enemies approached them.   
  
"So, come back to have you a$$ handed to ya in a sling?" Inu-yasha asked them.  
  
"Actually," Li Zhou, "We thought you would like to see some old friends again."  
  
"Amazoness Tiger!" shouted a familiar female voice. With a roar and swipe at Inu-yasha's chest, the enormous tiger leaped from the shadows. Inu-yasha staggered back, clutching at his bleeding chest, as Vash and Viola stepped forward from their hiding places.  
  
"You two again?" Kagoma exclaimed.  
  
"You died on the island," said Yugi/Yami to Vash.  
  
"And you were in a coma," Mai said to Viola.  
  
"Father came and took us home," Vash said smugly. He stood before them, shirtless and muscle bound.   
  
"And we want play," Viol said. "Inu-yasha, sweety, did you miss me?" she asked the han-you, blowing him a kiss.  
  
"You make me retch," he said.  
  
"It's just as well," Viola said. "Father doesn't like you, anyway. I doubt he'd let me keep you, though he might give me your scalp as a present."  
  
"Bring it on," Inu-yasha said.  
  
"Wait," Yugi/Yami said. "Your father… is Naraku?"  
  
"Want proof?" Vash said, revealing the spider bun on his back; the mark on Naraku's offspring. "And I get my temper from Father. I summon the Grave Keeper's Chief, infused with the sword of Dark Destruction," he said, throwing the cards to the ground. With a burst of light and smoke, the Grave Keeper appeared, the twisted metal blade in his hand.   
  
"Empress Judge," Viola said, "Pass judgment on these wretches." She tossed her card into the air, and with a flash of white light and red smoke, the Empress appeared, and took one of the chains of the Tiger in her hands.   
  
"Now I call for the Reaper of Cards," Li Zhou summoned, a thundercloud carrying the creature in. "I'm sure Joey knows this monster very well. And he has a bone to pick with you, since you eluded him in Duelist Kingdom." The Reaper lifted his sickle, and flew at Joey. But the boy blocked it with his Millennium Key, which now became the Millennium Staff. The block caused sparks to fly as the Light clashed with the Darkness.  
  
"Take this, you over grown weed whacker!" Joey shouted as he threw the Reaper back several feet.  
  
"I've just about enough of this," Mai said, coming to stand with Joey.   
  
"Then let's double team him," Joey said, holding up his Red Eyes Black Dragon.   
  
Mai took her Harpy's Pet Dragon from her deck, then, she realized, "Hey, I don't have Shadow powers."  
  
"No sweat," Joey said. He reached into his pocket, and pulled out the Millennium Eye. He tossed it to Mai. "Yugi gave me this for safe keeping. Can't think of any safer hands to put it in."  
  
"Right," Mai said as she put the Eye in her forehead. She felt the power within her, as she used all her strength. "Harpy's Pet Dragon," she called, "I summon you!"  
  
"Come and eat this chump for dinner, Red Eyes!" Joey shouted. The skies opened up, and both dragons swooped down in a blaze of fire and fury. The Reaper leaped into the air, and made battle with them, swingin his sickle at the humungous pairs of jaws, which threatened to devour him. And they did. With one sweep of hi mighty tail, Red Eyes sent the Reaper of Cards into the bowels of Harpy's pet dragon.  
  
Meanwhile, Inu-yasha, Kagome, Songo, and Miroku dodge the attacks of the Empress Judge, whilst Kirara wrestled with the Amazoness Tiger.  
  
"We won't stop her by facing her all at once," Miroku said as he dodged the daggers the Empress shot from her hands.  
  
"Then distract her," Inu-yasha said. He ran around behind the Empress, to slice her down from behind, but the she saw him, and threw her daggers at him, pinning him to the ground. As Inu-yasha struggled to get free, the Empress Judge loomed over him, ready to drive her daggers into his heart, when one of Kagome's arrows cut through the air, and went through her chest. She cried out in pain as she evaporated into dust.   
  
"What's you do that for?!" Inu-yasha demanded from Kagome. "I had her right where I wanted her!"  
  
"Well, I had her in my sights!"  
  
"Will you two quite fighting and help us save Kirara?" Songo cried as she threw her hiraikotsu at the Tiger, but missed once again.  
  
"Wind Tunnel!" Miroku shouted as he unwrapped his hand. The vacuum sucked up rocks and tree branches, and much more debris, before his Wind tunnel sucked up the Tiger.  
  
All the while, Kaiba and Yugi/Yami went head to head against the power of Li Zhou's Millennium Ring. As Li Zhou threw lightening bolts at the Pharaoh and wizard, Kaiba fired Black Lightening, and Yugi/Yami threw Li Zhou back with his Pulse Wave of Dark Revealing Light.  
  
--------------------------------------  
  
Serenity, Tea, Tristan, Ayumi,. And Bakura watched all of this from inside Kagome's house. Serenity feared for them, and hoped they would win. But then, a thought came to her mind. Why would they attack this place? What good would it do? Then,suddenly, her Millennium Necklace reacted, and she saw into the enemies' mind. She saw Naraku, slithering into the well house… To the secret well!  
  
"This is all a diversion!" Serenity said suddenly, and ran out of the house.   
  
"Serenity!" Tea shouted, running after her, followed by Tristan, Ayumi, and Bakura. "Come back, you'll get hurt!"  
  
"Inu-yasha! Yugi!" Serenity cried, "This is a trap! Naraku's trying to go down the well! He wants to go into the past!"  
  
Inu-yasha looked at the well house, and indeed, the doors were open, and sitting on the side of the well was Naraku.  
  
"You won't get in!" Inu-yasha shouted, running forward at lightening speed, ready to cut down Naraku.   
  
"Ai Suzu!" Naraku commanded. The Siren rose up and blocked the doors. She brought forth her drum, and gutar. With her hands she strummed the guitar, and unseen hands drummed a beat. And, she began to chant. All human ears fell deaf, whilst Inu-yasha'a ears heard the secret words. He struggled to resist the power of the enchantment, but his arms were like lead. He knew he had to defeat this siren, but she was commanding him to stop! To turn on his comrades…  
  
Naraku grinned, and slipped down the well.  
  
--------------------------------------  
  
"Some one stop me," Inu-yasha grunted, "Somebody stop me before I…"  
  
"Inu-yasha?" Kagome asked. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Siren…Singing…STOP ME NOW!!!!" He swung his sword wildly about, shrieking and snarling, going into berserker mode.   
  
"Someone stop him!" Miroku pleaded. "He will kill us all, and them himself!"  
  
Then, the heard the chanting from Tokyo Tower again. Two voices chanted the words. Vash and Viola were chanting the old words. Suddenly, a third voice joined. Ayumi's. As the girl chanted, her modern cloths fell away, and a she was suddenly wrapped in a blue, pink, and white kimono. Her lips were painted, and in her hands she clutched the wind fan. Her gentle brown eyes went blank, and with a blink, they turned heart's blood red.   
  
While Ai Suzu chanted the song that controlled Inu-yasha, Li Zhou said, "Long agao, a great battle was fought between Kagura and Inu-yasha. It caused a cataclysmic disruption, an created a crater in the earth itself, which is now a lake. With the music of Ai Suzu, and our brother and sister, we shall recreate that battle here. And in the end, both shall die."  
  
"Dance… Of… The Dragon," Ayumi and Kagura's voices intermingled. With a sweep of her hand, she created a twister, that formed into a dragon, and it advanced on Inu-yasha. He leaped up, sliced through the dragon twister.   
  
"We've got to stop to the chanting!" Yugi/Yami said. "That is what's causing this!"  
  
"But how?" Mai asked.   
  
"Kagome, will your arrows work?"  
  
"If you can hold them still long enough, my arrows can do just about anything." she said, nocking one.  
  
"I'm on it," Kaiba said, running towards Vash. Vash put up his arms, and blocked the Black Lightening attack, but he'd stopped chanting.   
  
"Brother!" Viola shouted. With the distraction, she was struck by Kagome's arrow through her heart, blood spewing everywhere. When their voices stopped chanting, Ayumi's eye turned brown again.   
  
"Huh…What am I doing dressed this way?!" she asked.   
  
"You're dead, Kagura!" Inu-yasha, still entranced, shouted. Ayumi screamed, and as she brought up her hands to shield herself, she inadvertently used the fan in her right hand to fling Inu-yasha into the sacred tree.  
  
"Sorrow, Inu-yasha," Kagome said, "This is for your own good," she fired another arrow, this time at Inu-yasha. The arrow pierced his arm, and kept him pinned to the tree.   
  
"Ayumi," Yugi/.Yami commanded, "Destroy the Siren! You're the only one with the power!"  
  
"How?" Ayumi asked. "Oh, the fan!" she exclaimed. She lifted her arm, "Please let this work." Ai Suzu brought up her flute, and her drum nbean to beat a different rhythm. As she played her flute, she hummed the summoning song from sunset that evening. Ayumi's arm stopped, and she stood still.   
  
"Aymui, please!" Kagome pleaded, "Snap out of it! I'm out of arrows, and Inu-yasha won't be stuck much longer!" He was snarling and wincing as he tried desperately to pull the arrow from his bleeding arm.  
  
Ayumi summoned all her energy, and brought the fan down, creating an earth shaking gust. The wind that blew forward, sliced through the Siren, who screamed like a banshee as she disintegrated.   
  
Meanwhile, Vash and Viola dropped to the ground. With out the Siren Ai Suzu, or Naraku, they could not hold their forms. They also turned to dust, and blew away ion the breeze.   
  
"I'm out of here," Li Zhou said, going to the mini shrine that held the well.  
  
"Oh no you don't!" Bakura said, punching him in the face. Li Zhou fell to the ground. Bakrua bent down,m and took the Millennium Ring from around Li Zhou's neck. "This is mine. And when Inu-yasha is free, you won't hurt anyone anymore."  
  
"I have more life yet, you accursed boy!" Li Zhou said. He grabbed Bakura by the shoulders, and ran the lightening through his body. Bakura cried and writhed in pain and agony.   
  
"Bakura!" Songo shouted. She lifted her hiraikotsu up, and ordered, "Drop him, NOW!"  
  
"As you wish," Li Zhou said. He turned towards the doors of the well house, and threw Bakura's body down the well, and followed after him. Songo let her weapon fly, but as it took the roof off the mini shrine, it was too late.   
  
AN: Oh no! What shall befall poor Bakura?! What shall our heroes do!?! When are we gonna see some hot, sexy action? ( JOKE!) Review, and I shall post more. Stay silent, and this is pretty much all your gonna get - and I just might take it off the site :P'- TTFN! 


	4. To Go Beyond

AN: A quick suggestion, if anyone reading this have either the ROTK or Last Samurai soundtracks, you might want to play them during a few moments in this chapter.   
  
P.S. We own nothing!!!!!  
  
Chapter Three: To Go Beyond  
  
Bakura awoke in a hazy, fog shrouded wood where no light passed from the stars to the ground. Even the moon was eclipsed by the mists. He suddenly realized that he could not move and that his arms and legs, though not bound by anything he could see, were like lead weights holding him down.  
  
"Where am I?" He wondered as he tried to move his head to see.  
  
"You are my prisoner now." Said Li Zhou as he floated in on the wind. "My prisoner at last."  
  
"I was always your prisoner, though you were the one sealed away, I was the one who was trapped by you." Bakura stated.  
  
"True enough I suspect, from your point of view at least, but we have more urgent matters to discuss. You and I have more in common than simply being prisoners of one another. We both possess the abilities to control the same Millennium Item." He looked down at the Ring still dangling from Bakura's neck.  
  
"Can it really be anymore use to you now that you've taken your true demon form?" Bakura asked.  
  
"It is mine, for I have bought it with great pains, and now I want it back." He said, taking it from around his prisoner's neck. "The Millennium Ring is mine as it always was meant to be since the day that Shadi imprisoned me inside of it." Li Zhou held the ring in his hands and it glowed brightly as he once again placed a piece of himself within it's hidden confines. "There, now it is mine forever, and you will be too as long as I exist. This Millennium Ring shall carry me wherever it goes and wherever you go." He placed it back around Bakura's neck and then it glowed again as that piece of Li Zhou took control of Bakura's mind again.  
  
---------------------------------------------  
  
"Let's get going." Kagome told the gang as she lowered her backpack down into the well. It had taken most of the night to remove the debris from over the devastated well house. Now all of them had assembled there at the shrine with their backpacks, overnight bags, and other paraphernalia. They were about to mount an expedition deep into the Feuding States Era to find Naraku and Li Zhou and stop them from doing whatever it is that they have planned.  
  
"Naraku is probably planning on consuming his younger self to make himself more powerful." Inu-yasha said as he readied the Tetsaiga for battle.  
  
"If that is the case, then we're probably going to have to be ready to face even more insidious incarnation of Naraku." Miroku said.  
  
"Don't forget that they have my dear Bakura." Songo reminded them. "We must rescue him."  
  
"Don't worry, we will." Yugi/Yami said to her. He was sure that Bakura was alive, but he couldn't be sure of why. Surely the Spirit of the Millennium Ring had wanted him dead for keeping him imprisoned for all these years.  
  
"This is going to be a really hard fight." Shippo said hopping around the excited group of adventurers. "I wonder if I'll get a chance to use my deck again."  
  
"Just incase you have to, here's a little card to help you out of a jam." Joey said and handed Shippo his Wolf Axe-wielder   
  
'Thanks." Shippo said tucking the card away in his pouch with the rest of his deck.  
  
"Well, I'm ready to go." Ayumi said as she slung her overweight backpack down on the ground. They all looked at her in shock and dismay.   
  
"Who said that you were going?" Tristan asked her.  
  
"I did, so let's hustle. What, you don't think that I'm going let you leave me behind here, do you?" She asked them.  
  
"It's not that." Kagome said, "It's just that you're pretty new to this, we don't want you to get hurt."  
  
"She won't get hurt," Serenity said, shouldering her backpack, "Because I'm going to protect her."  
  
"Oh no you're not," Joey said, pulling her backpack off her shoulder. "You're just as inexperienced as she is at this. You ain't goin."  
  
"You need my Necklace," Serenity said.  
  
"We've got Mai's Eye," Joey said.  
  
"That's right," said Mai, tapping the spot in her forehead where she'd imbedded the Eye- but was now as smooth as ever- "I can see as much with this Eye as you can with that Necklace."  
  
"The Eye only shows what's going on a the moment," Serenity argued, "The Necklace shows what's going to happen in the future."  
  
"There are too many people coming with us anyway!" Inu-yasha yelled. "I ain't a baby sitter! Some of you will have to stay behind!"  
  
"Surely you don't mean me," Setto Kaiba said, sauntering up to the well.  
  
"Oh no," Inu-yasha said, "Not more hero-wannabe's."  
  
"Oh I'm no hero," Kaiba said, "And I really wouldn't care if you most of you came back or not, but I know you need my services."  
  
"What services?" Joey said, eyeing Kaiba coldly.  
  
Kaiba opened his jacket, and revealed his Millennium Item. He held it in his hand, and as it glowed, Joey started to lift off the ground, and spin around in the air.   
  
"Oh how wonderful," Inu-yasha mocked, "more magic tricks."   
  
"That's not all," Kaiba said. He opened up the brief case he carried with his overnight bag, and handed out mini Duel Disks. "I've infused these with the power of my Millennium Rod. They can summon monsters as powerful and real as anything with Shadow Powers can conjure."  
  
"This will come in handy," Ayumi said, slipping it on her arm. "I just need to borrow a deck and…"  
  
"You're not going," Kagome argued with her friend, again.  
  
"You're nothing more than Demon Bait, back there ," Inu-yasha added.   
  
"Demon Bait, huh?" Ayumi said. She whipped out the Wind Fan- none had known what happened to it till now- gave it a twirl, and sliced down a tree. "It seemed to work pretty well against you last night, Dog-boy. I'm going."   
  
"Well if you insist on going, take this deck," Kagome said, handing Ayumi a pack of cards. "I made it from a bunch of cards we got from that weird Island of the Rare Hunters a few weeks back."  
  
"ANd I'll teach you how to play," Trsitan said.  
  
"Yeah, yeah enough standing around," Inu-yasha said, feeling antsy, "We've got a demon to kill."   
  
They all threw their packs down the well, and the new-be's stared down it. "So how does this thing work?" Kaiba asked. "Is there a cosmic 'on switch', or do you say a magic chant."  
  
"Do you have your Millennium Item?" Kagome said through her gritted teeth.  
  
"Of course," Kaiba replied.  
  
"Then just hop in!" Kagome said, pushing him back down the well. He screamed with shock as he and the packs disappeared without a trace.  
  
"He…He vanished!" Serenity gasped.  
  
"Don't worry," Joey said to his sister. "He's ok. Worse he'll get is a bump in head."  
  
"Or bones dropped on him." Duke said.   
  
"Bones?!" Serenity and Ayumi gasped.   
  
"Yeah, " Kagome said, "It's 'The Bone Eater's Well'. Duh."  
  
"Fine then, let's go," Inu-yasha said as he jumped down the well. A few seconds later, he was followed by the rest of their motley crew. They drifted inside the bright, magic time portal for a minute, and landed softly on top of their bags on the other side.  
  
"Wow," Serenity said in awe.  
  
"Smooth a ride as ever," Kagome bragged.  
  
"So where's Kaiba?" Tristan asked, looking up at the top of the well.   
  
"Probably already up at the top." Yugi said.  
  
"Hey!" Tea cried up to the top of the well. "Little Help!?"  
  
"Kaiba!" Duke called. "You there?"  
  
"No…" Kaiba's voice groaned from under them all. "I'm down here, you imbeciles…" They all looked down, and under the bags, which they sat on, was Setto Kaiba, flat on his back, and obviously in a lot of pain.  
  
"Get off of me!" He moaned.  
  
----------------------------------------------  
  
Old Keade, the head priestess of the little village outside the forest of Inu-yasha, came along the hidden path to the Bone Eater's Well. She'd sensed a great disturbance in the cosmic and spiritual balances a few nights ago, and felt it again just moments ago. She and the flea, Myoga, now came to investigate.  
  
"No doubt Lord Inu-yasha has brought King Yami back," Myoga stated.  
  
"Aye but why," Keade questioned. "Does he not know how dangerous it be for him to travel in these times of war? Rumors abound of foreign armies, come to conquer our lands, and King Yami, though a boy, is powerful and would be thought a threat to any warlord." As the two approached the well, Keade heard the mutterings, shouts, and groanings of many people from within.  
  
"It seems King Yami has brought an army of his own," Keade remarked as she and Myoga looked down the well at the outlandish sight.  
  
"Quit pushing!" came voices from the well.  
  
"Move over, rich boy!"  
  
"You move."  
  
"Everyone calm down! We need to make a human ladder!"  
  
"Someone's on my foot!"  
  
"Someone's on MY foot!"  
  
"Someone's hand is on my butt, and he doesn't move it, he's one dead monk!"  
  
"Sorry," said several male voices.  
  
"What happened to the rope ladder!?!" Kagome shouted in aggravation.  
  
"Need ye any help?" old Keade asked.  
  
"Keade!" Kagome said relieved, "Can you throw down a rope or something?"  
  
"Aye, the rope ladder is right here, by why be it rolled up?" Keade pondered.  
  
"We'll think about that later," Kagome said. "Right now, we need out of here! NOW!"   
  
---------------------------------------------  
  
After the last of them climbed from the well, Keade looked over the new comers with a contemplative eye. She stepped up to them. "What is your name, child," she asked Serenity.  
  
"Serenity Wheeler," she said kindly. "I'm Joey's sister."  
  
"Ah, Serenity. That is a fine name," Keade said, smiling, "and it suits ye well. I feel a sense of serenity and calm radiating from you. You are a fine young lady." Keade then turned to Ayumi. Her old face went serious.   
  
"Um…hello," Ayumi said timidly. "I'm Kagome's friend, Ayumi"  
  
"Hmmm," Keade deliberated. "You seem ordinary enough, but something about ye does not quite fit. Your spirit does not suit your face, or perhaps the other way around? Ah. No matter. You are kind hearted. That is enough." Then, the old priestess laid eyes on Setto Kaiba. She frowned immediately.  
  
"What are you staring at?" Kaiba asked her callously. Keade grabbed his chin, and pulled him down.   
  
"Let me have a look at ye," Keade said. Her frown deepened as she turned his head this way and that. "I do not like ye." she stated. "You have a selfish eye, and stony face. You are not prone to acts of charity. But you hide a good heart inside a dwelling of stone and ashes. You act like a cruel man."  
  
"Are you done?" Kaiba asked rudely, jerking away from her.  
  
"I see ye are ill mannered as well. I see why Inu-yasha would have you as a companion, but why King Yami has you in his presence, I know not."  
  
"So," Kaiba said, turning to Yugi/Yami. "They call you King Yami here?"  
  
"Why not," Yugi/Yami answered. "It is my name and rightful title."  
  
From Keade's shoulder, Myoga gasped. "All my nightmares have come true!" the flea cried, jumping to the ground in front of Kaiba. The rest of the group looked at the flea and businessman.  
  
"What are you?" Kaiba asked the speck in front of him.  
  
"Please don't hurt me, oh mighty and powerful Wizard of the Burning Sands!" Myoga beseeched. "I am not more than a flea! Do not punish me for keep the secret of the Pharaoh's tomb from you, deserting your dungeons to serve a disinherited dog!!"  
  
"You little coward!" Inu-yasha shouted. He ran over to the flea, and promptly squashed him under his foot. As Myoga popped back up from being squished flat, Kagome stepped up beside Inu-yasha.   
  
"Uh, Reality check, Myoga," Kagome said. "That's only Kaiba."  
  
"What?" Myoga asked, looking up. "You mean..He's not the Wizard of the Burning Sands who tried to overthrow Egypt's king?"  
  
"Oh brother," Kaiba said, "Not that story again. If that's all you're going to believe , then yes, I am."  
  
"No he's not," Kagome countered. "He's just a spoiled brat with too much money."  
  
"Either way, he's an imposing figure!" Myoga quivered, jumping up to Yugi/Yami's shoulder. "Protect me, Sire!"  
  
"I am tempted to squash you myself for treachery," Yugi/Yami said, his face set in stone. Myoga choked with fear.  
  
"Aww, the poor thing," Serenity said. "Don't be such bullies to him." Myoga hopped to her shoulder at once.  
  
"At least this young lady knows pitiful soul when she sees one." Myoga said, with a sigh of relief.  
  
"Yeah you're pitiful alright," Inu-yash shaid, turning and walking towards the trees and the village, "A pitiful excuse for a blood a sucking vermin." The rest of the company picked up their bags, and followed Inu-yasha and Keade to the village. But when they emerged through the tress, they noticed two of their companions missing.  
  
"Where is Songo and Kirara?" Miroku asked, looking around for them.  
  
"Huh? That's weird," Tea said. "They were right here."  
  
"Well we don't have time to go looking for them," Inu-yasha said. "We've got to rally the villagers. The only way we're going to beat Naraku is by strength of arms."   
  
"What makes you think that will work?" Duke asked. "Haven't armies fought against this Naraku guy before? If he's beaten trained warriors, then he shouldn't have a problem cutting down a bunch of inexperienced farmers and kids."  
  
"You're forgetting our new weapons," Kaiba said slapping his deck in his disk. "With this you can summon monsters as real as flesh, bone, and blood. "  
  
"Well don't summon any now," Shippo said. "We need to ask these people for help. They won't fight with us if they're scared of us."   
  
"Keade, gather all the village's best archers," Inu-yasha ordered the old priestess. She looked up at him to scold him for ordering her around, but she stopped. She saw the determination and anger in his face. This was not a good time to argue with him. And she also saw that his face was not that of an insolent young boy with a hot temper. He seemed to her now to be a young nobleman, readying do defend his people. She simply nodded, and went behind her hut, where her horse grazed. She climbed up on the back of the steed, and galloped off. This village, though small to some, was in fact quite large, with holdings scattered out for many leagues. And she knew of many who were once great samurai. She would ride the width and breadth of her familiar countryside.   
  
She raised a call, "To arms! To arms! All ye who hate the demon Naraku, to arms at once!" t her call, men old and young came from their huts, and stared at the old Priestess as she rode from house to house, summoning archers, summoning spearmen, summoning warriors. They each gathered up his or his father's or his uncle's or brother's armor and weapons where they lay collecting dust. When Keade at last turned around to return to the village, the men who came followed her. They rode upon horses and donkeys, rode on carts once used for plowing, or even ran on their own two feet.  
  
"To where, Priestess Keade?" they asked.  
  
"To the village of the shrine!" Keade would reply. "And the forest of Inu-yash. King Yami and Lord Inu-yasha ride to war against Naraku!"  
  
"To the old Shrine!" the men cried.  
  
They ran on…even on to the night.  
  
---------------------------------------  
  
Meanwhile, during the day Keade had been gone, the others waited an readied themselves fro battle. Around lunch time, as Kagome handed out cups of noodles, tea, soda, and freeze-dried packets to everyone, Shippo looked up, and said, "It's Kirara! And Songo! And they're hauling a cart behind them!" He ran on all fours th where Kirara and Songo landed. The rest of them soon followed.  
  
"Where have you been?" Kagome asked her. "We've been worried."  
  
"I went back to my village," Songo said. "If this is indeed the day of Naraku's final judgement, then it is befitting that my new comrades wear the armor of the fallen warriors of my clan." She went to the back of the cart, and one by one, presented armor, swords, and daggers to each of them, even the young ladies.   
  
"Yami," Songo said, "This was my brother's spare suit of armor. I fear it is all I could find that might fit you."  
  
"It is an honor," Yugi/Yami said as he accepted the black and aqua armor.  
  
"Inu-yasha," Songo said, "I know your Fire rat kimono can stand up to just about anything, but I still would consider it a great honor to wear my grandfather's armor."   
  
"Huh?" Inu-yasha asked.   
  
"Inu-yasha," Kagome scolded, "Accept the armor."  
  
"Oh fine," he huffed. "What am I supposed to do with this?" he asked as he put it on over his kimono. It was an old suit of red armor, one that a high lord or a samurai warrior might have worn. As he clipped the Tetsaiga to his belt, everyone gasped.  
  
"Inu-yasha," Kagome said, "You look like…."  
  
"What?" Inu-yasha barked. He stood before them tall, no longer a pup.  
  
"Oh, Lord Inu-yasha," Myoga said, wiping a tear from his eye, "You are the spitting image of your great father. Oh, I need a tissue!" he sobbed.   
  
"You clean up good, dog breath," Joey commented.  
  
"You look so cool!" Ayumi, Serenity, and Tea said together.   
  
"Now I know we've come back in time," Kaiba said. "Only anidiot from the past would wear such an antiquated piece of junk."  
  
"You're just jealous," Tristan muttered.  
  
"He's the one who looks like an idiot," Duke added.  
  
"Everyone shut up!" Inu-yasha shouted, taking the armor off, and returning to his grouchy old self. "Is there any more Ramen?" He stormed back into the hut, and sat down next to the cooking fire.  
  
Kagome sighed, "So much for our living legend."  
  
-----------------------------------------------  
  
That night, the little group of heroes prepared to rest. Keade had not yet returned from gathering the villagers.  
  
"Old crone probably got lost," Inu-yasha said yawning. "Maybe she'll find her way back in the morning."  
  
"I haven't broken in this suit of armor," Yugi/Yami said. "I'll think I'll go for a walk."  
  
"Should I come with you?" Tea asked.  
  
"No, you stay here," he said. "Get some rest. We have a long day ahead tomorrow."  
  
"Well," Joey said, falling back to sleep on a bed of his green armor, using the helm for a pillow. "Good night."   
  
"Just don't wake us up with your snoring," Tristan said.  
  
"I don't snore!" Joey disagreed.   
  
"Both of you be quiet," Kaiba said crossly.  
  
"Go to sleep!" Duke seconded. Yugi/Yami lifted the flap in the door, and walked out of the hut. The night air was crisp and cool. He walked along the forest edge, looking at the stars above.  
  
---------------------------------------  
  
Kikyo stepped from the trees. She had felt the approaching storm coming. It was not a storm of rain or lightening, but still dark and thunderous. As she looked out on the village of her youth, she heard foot steps coming. She turned, and saw King Yami before her, dressed in Aqua and black armor.  
  
"King Yami," she said curtly.  
  
"Lady Kikyo," Yami said in turn.  
  
"So, the great king and his army rides to war?" Kikyo asked.  
  
----------------------------------------  
  
"We are no army," Yugi/Yami responded. "We are a hand full of people who are too young for war."  
  
"The rumors would contest that," said Kikyo. "The wind itself says that King Yami and Lord Inu-yasha ride with a great army to war against Naraku. I myself have seen my sister leading a great host of men to this village. They will arrive at dawn."  
  
"Then why are you here?" Yugi/Yami asked. He had never trusted Kikyo. He always felt she had ulterior motives when she contacted them.  
  
"I come to wish you good fortune," Kikyo said, "For I hacve heard also that there are now tow of that most hated monster."  
  
"Those are true," Yugi/Yami said.  
  
"Then know that I and my servants are at your disposal, should you need us."  
  
"Do you know where he has gone?"  
  
"He has gone away into the East to find himself. That is all I know." SHe turned to go, but stopped before she entered the shadows of the forest. "Take care of them." she said.  
  
"What?" Yugi/Yami asked.  
  
"The two I care for most," Kikyo said. "Protect them. For they are always on my mind, and in my heart."  
  
"Your heart is cold." Yugi/Yami said. She simply smiled at him, making his blood freeze in his veins, and she walked away into the mists of night.  
  
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AN: Daily floggings will continue for those who don't review! Do it NOW! I command you!!!  
  
Real Author: Zim, get the heck out of here!  
  
Zim: NEVER! I have invaded this athorship I the name of-!  
  
Real Co-author: Oh shut up! - kicks little green jerk out of office -  
  
Real Author: Sorry everyone. I won't flog people, but please, do review. =) 


	5. To War!

AN: Sorry for the shortness of the chapter, but it was so inspiring that I couldn't bear to bring it down with anything added to it. So I'm asking now, Please review!  
  
Chapter Four: To War!  
  
As the sun rose red in the morning, casting a russet glow on the land, Shippo came running into the hut, and jumped on Inu-yasha's stomach, chanting, "They're coming they're coming they're coming they're coming, THEY'RE COMING!!!"  
  
"OWFFF!!! Inu-yasha said as the 90 lb ball of fluff jumped on him, "Who's coming?" he demanded angrily.   
  
"Keade and the villagers." Shippo said, excitedly as everyone else awoke to the sound of his jubilant voice.  
  
"Oh wow!" Kagome said, "Inu-yasha, put on your armor!" She got up and started dressing him with the red leather and plate steel.  
  
"Hey, wait a second!" Inu-yasha said,. Pushing her away, "What for?"  
  
"I want the villagers to see you." she said, strapping on the breast plate, "You look so nice in it. Ike a real samurai warrior"  
  
"Fine," he grumbled as he put on the gauntlets. He clipped his sword on his belt, and walked out, followed by Yugi/Yami and the others, all adorned in their battle apparel. They looked out on the horizon, and Inu-yasha's ears picked at faint rumble. It grew louder as they approached. It was the sound of many hooves stomping like thunder. Then, they first saw Keade, still astride her mount, and wielding her bow up high above her head. Then, a great dark line of many men, on horse back and striding on foot, appeared in the glow of the rising sun. A great multitude of soldiers come to follow them into battle. All the young men and women, and the young han-you, stared in disbelief and awe at the sight.  
  
Whilst they stared, Keade rode down to join them.   
  
"Keade…" Inu-yasha asked. "What is this? I told you to bring a few archers. You brought the whole D&$% country side!"  
  
"You need men to help you fight," Keade said. "And these men will follow their lord."  
  
"What?" Inu-yasha shouted. "I'm not a lord! I'm not even a real Samurai. I just happen to look the part today." he bowed his head, "I'm nothing but a half breed. I'm nothing."  
  
"Wake up, boy," Keade said. "These men have heard of your great deeds. How you strive to help those who are weak and helpless, and your goal to rid our land of evil. They care not what your bloodline is. Only that you are born of the people. These are your people, Inu-yasha. They will follow you. Do ye not know that they look to you for leadership and to make their futures brighter? Word of your exploits hangsd on their lips everyday. Ye are a living legend. Even great foreign kings would follow ye willingly into battle, on oath of friendship alone. Ye are their leader, Inu-yash. They await your command."  
  
He looked out over the multitude, and saw in their faces. Some were scared, some were eager, others were patient. But all had hope within their eyes. He knew that old Keade spoke true.  
  
-----------------------------------------  
  
Kikyo stood atop the hill, watching all that transpired below. She looked to the sky, and said to her servants, "Go. Find all who are called Naraku's enemies. Tell them that one is leading an army against him. Tell them that King Yami and Lord Inu-yasha ride to war, with the Priestess Kagome beside them." Her soul catchers went, in speed and bright flashes of light, at her command. Within moments, the howls of dogs and wolves filled the air. A whirlwind appeared in the distance, with a two headed steed not far behind. They would come. She looked at the forest, and saw a three eyed cow stampeding towards the village. Yes. They were coming.  
  
---------------------------------------  
  
"Stop, you stupid cow!" they heard an aged voice cry.   
  
"Huh!?!" Inu-yasha and the others looked. Coming from the forest at full speed was old Totosai!   
  
"Woah bossy, whoa!" he cried. But then, rumbling came behind them. Totosais looked, and saw a pack wolves led by a whirl wind approaching, too! "Go, bossy! GO!!!!" the old smithy shouted. And in the air came a two headed steed, a tall, handsome white haired samurai warrior astride it.  
  
"Oh great," Inu-yasha said. "What are they doing here? I don't want a fight already."   
  
"Hold ye ground, Inu-yasha," Keade said. "I suspect they have not come to fight with ye."  
  
"WHOA!!!" Totosai shouted as the cow slid in with a cloud of dust. When the dust and dirt subsided, Totosai said, getting off his cow, "Heard there was an army gathering. Thought they'd need a smith to sharpen dull swords. I need the work, and I now you'd have need of me, boy." But then, the old man did a double take. "Inu-yasha? Hwoo! For a minute there, I thought you were your father."   
  
"Yeah, I've been getting that a lot, lately." Inu-yasha said. But just then, the wolf pack and whirlwind caught up with them. The twister died down, to reveal Kouga of the Wolves.   
  
"I heard that Kagome was going into battle with Inu-yasha and some king," Kouga said. "I figured I'd come and see that my woman stays safe."  
  
"Glad to have ya," Inu-yasha smirked. "Maybe you'll be the first casualty."  
  
"Inu-yasha," Kagome warned him. "Oh Kouga, would you really help us fight Naraku?"  
  
The Wolf you-kai grabbed both of her hands, and said, "Kagome, I'd fight an entire army single handedly for you."  
  
Behind them Kaiba gagged. Serenity stared at him, and said, "Oh? Wouldn't you fight an army for me?"  
  
"Only if I had a well armored tank." Kaiba answered back  
  
"We could make one out of these suits," Joey said, lifting his legs. "This armor weighs a ton!"  
  
"Quit whining," Inu-yasha said. "My brother's here." Sesshomaru's two headed beast landed in the field, and he dismounted. He strode up to them, looking quite regal in his own armor.   
  
"I heard that my brother leads a great host against Naraku. Might I offer some assistance?" Seshomaru said slowly.  
  
"Depends," Inu-yasha said. "You willing to follow me, and take orders?"  
  
"An Independent command would suit me best." Sesshomaru answered.  
  
"Fine, take that punk Kaiba with you," he said. "You two should get along fine. He's as expressionless and stony as your are."  
  
"I shall take the right wing of your army." Sesshomaru said, leading his mount to them.  
  
"And I'll take the left," Yugi/Yami said.  
  
"And I'll lead my wolves as a forward line," Kouga said. "To support your archers."  
  
"Whatever." Inu-yaha muttered. Fresh mounts were given to the rest of the horseless fighters, and Serenity and Mai used the Millennium Necklace and Eye to look ahead.   
  
"I see a lot of villages," Mai said.   
  
"I see a lot of people joining us," Serenity said, "But I see just as many joining Naraku."   
  
Then, Mai gasped. "The two Naraku's are fighting!"  
  
"They're heading towards Mount Fuji," Serenity added.  
  
"That'll take at least a week of hard riding," Inu-yasha said. "Alright everyone, we've got a long, hard ride ahead of us. I won't guarantee all of you a victory, but I will tell you this; We're not gonna take anything off Naraku or his henchmen anymore! Either we come back victorious, or we don't come back at all! Now, follow me! For your homes, for your land! For your people!!" He unsheathed the Tetsaiga, and reared his horse, the sword gleaming white in the new day sun.   
  
"For Lord Inu-yasha!" the soldiers cried together. They drew their swords, their spears raised high, and they all charged forward. "For Inu-yasha and King Yami! Death to Naraku!!!!" The thundering of hooves and baying of wolves echoed far and wide. All who would stand against them fled into the hills, seeking either sanctuary or the enemy, and all who would ride with them came on horse, donkey, and on foot to ride with their hero. Young and old, men, and even a few courageous women, joined them with every league of their journey... friend and foe rode together as brothers. The army of men and you-kai rode together against their greatest enemy. 


	6. Naraku vs Naraku

AN: Okay folks, this chapter has things you'd never thought you'd see (or, um, read, I guess) !  
  
Chapter Five: Naraku vs. Naraku  
  
Naraku sat in his palace, waiting. "Kohaku," he called, "What have you learned. The enslaved younger brother of the demon slayer, Songo, came in to him, and bowed.   
  
"An army has messed against you, my lord. The call to arms has gone out to every village and presect in the land. Warlords are sending fresh troops to join Inu-yasha. They claim as lord over the lands of Musashi and Edo. Even demons who call Inu-yasha 'enemy' have joined him against you."  
  
"So it has come to this," Naraku said. "All my incarnations have left me. I have only my own strength and the Jewel to protect me."   
  
"Then perhaps I can be of assistance." came a voice. Naraku turned around, and a tall middle aged man stood before him, accompanied by twin boys with white hair.  
  
"Who are," Naraku demanded. "How did you break my barrier? Only I or my servants may pass through it."  
  
"Look closely and you will see that I am you,' the older man said.  
  
"Impossible," Naraku said.   
  
" Oh, I beg to differ," the older creature said. "I came here through the Bone Eater's Well. From the distant future; a time when sorcery is a dead art, and science abounds. The age that the miko Kagome comes from."  
  
"I see," Naraku said. "Then why you come here? Do you seek the Jewel of Four Souls while it is still in pieces?"  
  
"I come," the older Naraku said, "To seek you." Suddenly, his two minions vanished, and reappeared grabbing hold of the young Naraku's arms. Then, the older Naraku said, "Together you and I will lay waste to the land. This country shall be ours. I will have all my youth and vitality restored to me; you will have my wisdom and knowledge. All we need do is absorb one another." Tenticles sprang from the older Naraku's back, and shot forward to seize the younger version of himself. But the young Naraku feared this being as he had feared nothing and no one else. He did not want to be absorbed, for he knew it meant his certain death! He evaporated from his own clothes, and reappeared outside of the castle. As he began to fly away, he looked to his right, and there was his older self, following closely in pursuit.   
  
"Such foolishness and arrogance. I am ashamed to have once been you. Do you not see that this is the only way to defeat Inu-yasha and his army. Without each other we will die."  
  
"You may die," the young Naraku countered, "But I am young and strong , whereas you are old and feeble."  
  
"Wake up, you young fool," the older said, "Inu-yasha comes with enough troops to decimate your strong holds. He has the power of the Millennium Items on his side. Surely you have not forgotten them?"  
  
"I care not about these Items," the younger lied, "I have most of the Jewel completed, and that is enough to give me strength."  
  
"You are blind," the older shouted. "Even if you had the Jewel completed, it is nothing compared to the power of the Millennium Items. If you should face them alone, and even kill Inu-yasha in battle, you will lose the Jewel, and slowly lose your life. I know. I lived it. I know the pains of age and slow decay. Before I came here, I was o more powerful than I was as Onigumo. Do you want that fate?"  
  
"No," the younger said. That is why I will not join you. Even if it means I live, I do not wish for the knowledge of growing old. I do not wish to now what powerlessness feels like. If I join you, I will surely die!" He stretched forth his hands, and called up his miasma around them. Nothing could survive the poisonous gasses for long.   
  
"Fool!" the older shouted, "Do you know nothing?! I am you. I know your tricks and your weaknesses!" the older Naraku flew out of the miasma, and grabbed his younger self by the throat, and began to strangle him. "I will absorb you…one way or another." he said as his tentacles and roots wrapped around his younger self. The young one screamed and thrashed about, trying to get away. Then, a Kama flew through the air, and struck the older Naraku in the shoulder, making him release the younger.  
  
Kohaku stood below on a ledge, and pulled back is weapon. The mindless boy stared up at the two you-kai, and prepared to attack again, but his arms were bound by lightening ropes. The twin boys had bound him.  
  
"Aren't they splendid?" the older Naraku asked his young counterpart. "My loyal servants, Li Zhous and Ryou."  
  
"What are they?" the younger Naraku asked, for now both boys tared at him with malicious smiles on their young faces.   
  
"One is my incarnation," the older said, "Made to take the Millennium Items from the Pharaoh's tomb in this time. The other is his prisoner, a boy from the future who housed Li Zhou's spirit until he was strong enough to escape his prison. Now both are my minions, and they will help me take you and destroy Inu-yasha."   
  
The young Naraku didn't wait. He threw another gust of his miasma, and used the cover to make his escape. He knew of refuge. One place where he could hide from this living nightmare… Mount Fuji.  
  
-------------------------------------------  
  
The older Naraku watched hios younger self flee. He would let him think he had escaped, for now. But he knew exactly where he would be. And he knew that Inu-yasha was on his way to that spot as well. He remembered everything. In the meantime, he flew down to where the mindless, memory deprived Kohaku stood, wrapped in the lightening ropes.   
  
"Your master has abandoned you, my boy. But I will take you as my servant again." He put his hand on Kohaku's head, and transferred a piece of his dark energy to the boy's mind. Kohaku screamed in pain and grief at the images he saw. After some time of this, he quieted down, and stood there with a deeper darkness within him.   
  
"Most excellent," the older Naraku said. He turned to Bakura and Li Zhou. "Bakura, I bid you to summon all who gather to my aide, and seek out the army of Inu-yasha and King Yami."  
  
"It shall be done," Bakura said cheerfully.   
  
"Take young Kohakub with you," the old Naraku added. "Li Zhou, I have another task for you."  
  
"Whatever you bid, I shall do," Li Zhou replied.  
  
"I ask you to perform the task you were created to do. Go to Egypt and retrieve for me the Millennium Items."  
  
Li Zhou shook with old fear rising within him. "I… Y-yes, master." Li Zhou said as he rose to the air, and traveled east. When Li Zhou was out of his sight, he bid Bakura and Kohaku to go and seek their prey.  
  
-------------------------------------------  
  
Elsewhere, Inu-yasha led the still growing army on South East towards Mount Fuji. The men were weary from the long, hard days or marching, and they were half way to their destination. Two days… two days seemed a short time to find their prey but they had time. Serenity and Mai assured them that both Narakus were on their way to the valley just beyond the hills. It would take them two days at least to cut a way through the dense foliage and make their final camp on the ridge. For now though, they would make camp in flat lands and rest their mounts. Food was plentiful, appetites were strong, and spirits were high. They now numbered nearly 6,000 strong, a large enough force to take on any great foe.  
  
"I don't get it." Kaiba said to Sheshomaru as his wing of the army made camp that evening. "If you hate your brother so much then why ride with us?" The situation didn't make any sense to him. Neither did the strained relationship between the two brothers.   
  
"I have my reasons. Inu-yasha is still my enemy but Naraku is a threat to us both. He's used me in the past, hoping to kill my brother, and I have been a willing participant only to be double-crossed. I don't take treachery lightly and I don't like being asked a lot of questions." Sheshomaru said.  
  
----------------------------------------  
  
Inu-yasha came riding into the camp after having scouted the area. No sign of any danger. That was good. His army was far from ready to encounter any of Naraku's forces. As he rode by a group of the men, his sensitive ears heard their hushed whispers.  
  
"It's lord Inu-yasha," one of them said, "I've heard that his mother was a quite prominent princess and a great beauty."  
  
"His father was a demon anong demons, and very powerful," remarked a second man.  
  
"You can defiantly tell where he gets his strong presence from." said a third.  
  
"He is over 60 years old," said forth, "But he looks so young. I would not have believed it if my grandfather had not told me stories of Inu-yasha." Men bowed before him and women rushed to attend him as he climbed down off of his horse. To Inu-yasha, this was a strange feeling. He'd never had someone make so much of a fuss over him before.  
  
"Isn't this wonderful, Inu-yasha?" Kagome asked him later when they sat together in his tent. "You're finally getting the respect you deserve."  
  
"Only because Songo gave me this armor and they Yugi's a king," Inu-yasha grumbled. "Take all this fancy stuff away and they'd all still be calling me half-breed, retch, and dog-boy."  
  
"That's not true," Kagome said. "Anyone with eyes can see how much they really respect you."  
  
"Feh," Inu-yaha huffed.   
  
"Well then" Kagome said, "I guess it's not a matter of their respect for you, but your own respect for yourself." She stood up and went to the door of the tent.  
  
"Hey Kagome," Inu-yasha said, getting up.  
  
"What?" she demanded, turning to him impatiently.  
  
"Come here," he said. He got hold of her arm, and pulled her close. Before she had time to react, he was holding her in his arms, her head against his chest. He'd held her like this a few times in the past, but now it was different. He wasn't injured, or on the brink of sorrow. He was just hugging her. She blushed as she listened to his heart beat in his chest.  
  
"Uh… Inu-yasha?" she asked.  
  
"Hey, just," he said, "Just let me hold you like this for a while…"  
  
"Oh…okay," she said. As they stood there together, she slipped her own arms up around him. She knew that the fighting was a long time off…so why did this still feel like a goodbye?  
  
--------------------------------------------  
  
The wolves sensed it first. Scattered around the perimeter of the camp, the wolves and wolf demons sniffed the air. Something was wrong. Something was coming. The wolves lifted their heads and began to howl, while the wolf demons ran to Kouga.  
  
"Kouga!" one of them said, "There something's come-!" he was stopped dead by a kama in the back. As their comrade fell, the others ran to the tents, giving out the warning.  
  
"Inu-yasha!" Kouga cried. He ran on his Jewel powered legs to Inu-yasha's tent. He barged in, to see Kagome looking down, her face red. Inu-yasha stood and looked at him coldly. "What?" Inu-yasha demanded.   
  
"Ambush!" Kouga said, letting the matter of what he did and didn't see drop. Inu-yasha unsheathed his sword, anmd ran out with him, to see the boy, Kohaku, leading a charge of undead warriors towards the camp.   
  
"Any who can fight, get up!" Inu-yasha ordered. He hurtled forward, and cut down five zombies. Men around him looked up, and cried, "Someone comes on the clouds!" Inu-yasha looked up, and -what he thought was- Li Zhou, the Millennium Ring around his neck, flew down at them, shooting lightening bolt daggers.   
  
"Don't run!" Inu-yasha rallied his men. "We can beat them!"  
  
"We are with, lord Inu-yash!" they said, lifting their swords and bows. They fired, but the undead warriors kept coming. And Li Zhou was above them.  
  
"You are no match for me, half breed!" Li Zhou said.  
  
"But we are," Yugi/Yami cried. "Forward!" the left wing of the army came in on the undead warriors, and brought them down. Ayumi, who rode with Yugi/Yami gave a twist of her fan, and ordered, "Dance of the Dead! Turn and fight your own!" Many zombie creatures stopped, turned, and began to cut and slice up other corpses. As this happened, the right wing charged in. Kaiba lifted his rd, and hurled Black Lightening at Li Zhou. As the bolts made contact, Li Zhou screamed, and suddenly mist raised up out of him. His eyes went from red to brown. It was then that Kaiba, and Yugi/Yami realized their horrible mistake.  
  
"That's not Li Zhou!" Yugi/Yami shouted. "That's Bakura!" Balura fell…and landed in the midst of the undead samurai who were hacking away at each other. Bakura looked up, and a rusted samurai sword came down in his shoulder. He screamed in anguish .  
  
"Ayumi!" Yugi/Yami ordered, "Stop them!"  
  
"I'm trying!" she cried, flustered and panicked, "I'm not sure how!"   
  
Yugi/Yami leaped off of his horse, and ran for the fray. "Bakura! Bakura!"   
  
Bakura did not heed his friend's cry. Instead, he stared at the blade that now sped towards his neck. He closed his eyes, and awaited the end.  
  
"Hiraikotsu!" Songo's voice rang amidst the clanging and ringing of metal on metal, and the sounds of flesh being slashed. Her hiraikotsu flew through the zombie samurai, and decapitated the warrior that was attacking Bakura. Songo rode on Kirara to where Bakura stood, gaping at the hideous scene around him.   
  
"Where…" Bakura stammered, "Oh, Songo… where am I?"  
  
"You're with me," she said. She gave him her hand, and pulled up on Kirara's back. When he sat behind her, she tored the Millennium Ring from his neck, and put it in a bag on her belt. "I'll take you to get your soulder looked at," she said. Kirara turned around, and headed for the medicine tents.   
  
------------------------------------------  
  
"Hold your ground," Sesshomaru ordered his men. The archers fired, and the spearmen thrust their spears into the on coming undead. As they cut down the last of the undead warriors, Inu-yasha rode up to his brother.   
  
"Any causlties from your wing?" Inu-yasha asked. Sesshomaru drew his sword, the Tenseiga, and swiped at the air. With that, all the wounded and dead soldiers from the right wing stood up, and looked at themselves and each other in disbelief.   
  
"No." He replied.   
  
"Then follow me," Inu-yasha said, "We got plenty opf people who need that sword of yours over here on the center."  
  
As they rode to the epicenter of the battle, the rest of Inu-yasha's captains joined them. From the smithy tent, Totosai came and looked around. He whistled. "My, my. A lot of decent swords here that I could melt down. So, has your brother been using the Tenseiga on the casualties?"  
  
"Why would someone use a sword on people who are already dead?" Joey asked, appalled.   
  
"The Tenseiga is the sword of healing," Miroku said. "It can bring back the dead, if we act quickly enough."  
  
"These people are beyond my help," Sesshomaru said coldly. "There is no help for them now. Too much time has passed since their deaths."  
  
"There's got to be something?" Mai asked.   
  
"Sorry, young lady," Totosai said, walking ast her, "They're goners." Then, the old smith looked at Inu-yasha's belt, and made a ghastly face. "YAHHHHH!!! Where did you get that!?!?!"  
  
"What? This?" Inu-yasha asked. He looked at the dagger that hung on his belt. "Just some old dagger Shippo gave me."  
  
"That is not just some old dagger!!!" Totosai exclaimed, pulling at the dew hairs that gre from his head. "That is the Dagger of the Dead! It brings back the dead from even beyond the spirit world!"  
  
"What?" Inu-yasha, and several others gasped.  
  
"Yes!" Totsai said. "I made it as a compnaion for the Tenseiga, but it was stolen, and thrown into the ocean by a bitter rival! I thought I'd never see it again."  
  
"So this belongs to Sesshomaru?" Inu-yasha sasked.   
  
"NO!" Totosai bellowed. "You foolish boy! The dagger can only be given as a gift. If it is stolen or taken from someone without their consent, then it's worthless. I say that if that fox child gave it to you, then use it now!"  
  
"How?" Inu-yasha asked. "Like this?" He unsheathed the dagger, and swiped at the air. Noting happened though .  
  
"No," Totosai said, takling his hands, "Like this," the old smith crew the blade of the dagger across Inu-yasha's palm, making it bleed.   
  
"OW!!" Inu-yasha whined. "What'd you do that for!?"  
  
"Because it requires a blood sacrifice to work. Now, make to slashes in front of you."   
  
"Fine, whatever," Inu-yash said. He made to slashes at the air in front of him. The blood on the blade splattered on the bodies of their fallen comrades, and the drops glowed as they sank into each person. Then, just as with the Tenseiga, people began to get up, and look around in amazment.   
  
One old soldier got up, looked at the group of leaders, and asked, "What happened? I saw darkness before me, and knew nothing. Now, I am awake."  
  
Kagome bandaged up Inu-yahsa's hand, and said to the soldier, "Inu-yasha used the dagger of the Dead to bring you back."  
  
"Inu-yasha saved our lives," the soldier exclaimed. The men around them cheered.  
  
"Oh, man," Inu-yasha said. "Not more of this. Then, suddenly Seshomaru laid a hand on Inu-yasha's shoulder. Inu-yasha looked at his older brother, confused.   
  
"You must learn to accept praise more graciously, little brother." Sesshomaru said. Then, he walked away back to his own tent.   
  
-----------------------------------  
  
Kohaku hid in the trees, watching the people rejoice over their victory in this small battle. He then turned away to the dark shadows of the woods, to find his master, and report.   
  
AN: Uh oh! What will happen next?! Please review if you want to find out! 


	7. We Ride

AN: It's getting good ain't it?  
  
Fez: "Hello friends of Fez!"  
  
Co-AN: Fez, dude, you're in the wrong fan fic!  
  
Fez: "Oh no! I must have taken a wrong turn at 'Dragon Ball Z'!"  
  
AN: Don't worry, just take a left at Lord of The Rings, and go past the Sailor Moon Crossovers, and you're there.  
  
Fez: "Oh, thank you. Good day." - Fez turns to leave-  
  
Co-AN: Wait, but Fez…  
  
Fez: "I said good day!" -walks away in a huff-  
  
P.S. We own nothing!!!!!  
  
Chapter Six: We Ride  
  
The Two Naraku's clashed all through the night, and on through daybreak, until at last, the elder prevailed. The older Naraku, seeing that he could not catch his younger self alone, split off into five separated pieces. One he called Goro, another Rokuro, a third Nibori, and the last, a demoness named Sumiko. The three of them hummed in synchronization as they called from the depths of the earth more undead men to serve their master. Then, they each sped to the Young Naraku, and assaulted him all at once. Goro, with a flail in hand, swung the barbed weight at Naraju's head, while Nibori kicked a spiked heel at Naraku's chest. Rokuro threw a length of chain around the demon, and Sumiko brought out a crooked dagger, and stabbed him under the breastbone. As Rokuro unwound his chain, the young Naraku felt his body begin to weaken. Finally, with a swift and mighty blow he threw down his younger self, at the very feet of the mountain of Fuji. Surrounded by his legions of undead warriors, his four newest creations, and young Kohaku at his side, the Older Naraku prepared to absorb the Younger.  
  
The young Naraku looked up at his older counterpart, his eyes wide with fear, but helpless to stop him. The Elder loomed over him, and said, "It is useless to resist me. It is time to realize, and accept, your fate." He reached out his hands and grasped his younger self by the forearms. His tentacles sprouted from his back, and wrapped around his young counterpart and himself in a great cocoon. Within, first the Jewel was absorbed, and then, little by little, the Young Naraku felt himself slipping away into the form of his older self. True, he began to receive the knowledge of the Elder Naraku, but his fears were confirmed in knowing what it is like to die slowly and surly, and be powerless to stop it, as the ages flew by without end. He felt the theif, Onigumo, screaming, writhing, inside of him, begging to be released. The terror….The Horror of the memory of being burned alive arose from within him, and suddenly, the cocoon burst into flame.   
  
Both Narakus were propelled from the burning cocoon, thrown back away from it and each other.   
  
"It cannot be!!" the older Naraku shouted. He had lost much of his strength from the creation of his new warriors, and the effort to absorb himself, and now he appeared much more aged than before. Wrinkles on his face deepened, and his hair was streaked with grey. "I will not be denied my rebirth!"   
  
The Young Naraku sat up, his body shaking. He too had aged in this fight with himself. But only slightly, and now he possessed the full complement of knowledge and wisdom that the Older Naraku had possessed. The Jewel lay on the ground before him. He would need it, for now he was indeed much weaker than he'd been before. Reached out, clutched at the partially completed Jewel of Four Souls, and called up it's power. Soon, he began to rise, but before he could make his escape, he felt the kama of Kohaku penetrate his rib cage. Suddenly, as Young Naraku agonized over his wound, they heard a sound so like trumpet browing in the air, and a rumble as if the sleeping mountain was awakening from its millennia of sleep. But it was not from the mountain that the rumbling came, but from the North West. They looked to the ridge above them, in the light of the rising sun, four beings stood, looking down on them. One was the fair Sesshomaru, another was the wolf leader Kouga. The other two wore armor, images of the Samurai of old. One with the grace and bearing of a king. The other of a Feudal lord, his silver hair bbillowing out in the wind.   
  
The samurai in red armor unsheathed a mighty white fang, and ordered, "Archers! Fire!" with that, a line of archers fired a volley of arrows down upon them in a shower of deadly rain. Thenn, the wolf leader stepped fowrad, and raised a hand. A line of wolves and wild dogs, as well as wolf demons, appeared over the ridge.  
  
--------------------------------------  
  
"Yugi," Inu-yahsa commanded, "Take your wing of the army down the left, and cut him off. Sesshomaru, take your wing down the right. Kouga, you'll bear our forward spearhead. I'll bring my cavalry up to support you." The three generals nodded, and hurried away to their positions.   
  
----------------------------------------  
  
Naraku looked up at the young warrior standing alone of the ridge. The samurai's golden eyes burned like fire. He spurred his horse, gave oput a cry, and the ridge spilled with the flowing river of humanity, predeeded by a line of wolves, wold demons, and wild dogs, all bearing their white and foaming fangs. Naraku's undead warriors hefted their sword and spears and axes, and charged forward to meet them, as a sea of walking corpses clashed head on with a wave of living humanity. But always before them, and in the center of his own mind, was the warrior, Inu-yasha, with his flaming eyes of fury and righteousness. They road like the wind through the hoards of undead samurai and mowed them down beneath the hooves of their horses. There was no stopping them by any means. Inu-yasha's army was like a merciless stone which threatened to grind down Naraku and his minions.  
  
As the Younger Naraku stared at his doom, dumbly and mute, the Older was determined to not let his own history be repeated… But he knew that no matter the outcome, Inu-yasha must die. And to do that, he'd have to separate him from his captains and generals.   
  
"Goro," the older Naraku summoned, "Cut off his brother. Nibori, take down King Yami. Rokuro, I leave the wolves to you, and you, Sumiko, I want you to destroy the girl Kagome. I shall kill Inu-yasha with my own two hands." The four servants charged on the wind to their targets.  
  
----------------------------------------  
  
Inu-yaha saw him… Them… both Narakus. One looked at him, dumbfounded, while the other looked ready to face him in battle. Inu-yasha leaped above the fray of rotting, reanimated beings, and landed in front of his enemies. He lifted his sword, and barred his fangs.   
  
"You think to kill me, Inu-yasha? You? A half breed?" the older Naraku questioned him.  
  
"I'm not just a half breed anymore," Inu-yasha snarled. "Petty insults like that don't hurt me anymore. I've discovered who I really am: Inu-yasha, The Dog Forest Spirit, neither human or demon. And I'm ready to avenge every person you've killed… every life you've ruined… It ends today. For one or both of us, it ends today!" Inu-yasha raised his sword, and with a howl he charged.  
  
----------------------------------------  
  
Kagome fired her bow at the zombies around her, and saw Inu-yasha leap away to face Naraku. Kagome made to follow him, but then the soldiers around her screamed as a woman flew down from the sky on top of them. With a swing of her crooked and jagged dagger, she cut down half of the archers around Kagome. Then, she set down on the ground.   
  
"You are the miko, Kagome?" she asked.  
  
"Who wants to know?" Kagome asked her, nocking an arrow.  
  
"I, Sumiko, will kill you now," the woman said calmly as she rushed at Kagome, her dagger raised above her head.  
  
"Dance of the Dragon!" Ayumi screamed, twirling and bringing down her wind fan. The twisting winds turned into a dragon, it's jaws open, and they chopped the incarnation to pieces.  
  
"Thanks Ayumi," Kagome said, getting on a horse and riding away to join Inu-yasha.  
  
"Don't mention it!" Ayumi said as she used her fan and sword to hack away at more zombies.  
  
-------------------------------------------  
  
Shippo gasped at the carnage around him. He'd never seen anything so terrible. His eye beheld a demon with blue hair using a chain to whip at the wolves in the front lines.   
  
"I need a sturdy steed to hurry me into battle," Shippo said, drawing a card from his deck. He called, "Mad Sword Beast!" and the shell-backed rhinoceros arose from the ground beneath him. "WHOA!!!" Shippo cried as the one horned beast hurtled forward, the little fox riding on his back. "Don't Kouga!" he cried. "I'll save you! Let's see here," Shippo said to himself, "what else can I summon? Oh! Here's Joey's Wolf Axe-wielder. Maybe it'll help." He supposed as he came upon the bloody tangle between the incarnation and Kouga. Kouga had tried to stab at the chain wielding maniac, but those very chains had bound his arms, and were sending volts of dark energy through wolf pack's leader's body like electricity through a metal rod.   
  
"Wolf Axe-wielder!" Shippo summoned, throwing the card out to the two combatants, "Help Kouga!" The giant, muscle bound wolf howled as he came into being, used his axe to break through the chains which bound Kouga's arms.  
  
"Ah, another flea's dream meal come to die," Rokuro said. But no sooner had the words left his mouth, than Shippo summoned Dark Blade, who used his swords with vicious power to decapitate him. As Rokuro's body turned to ashes and dust, Shippo called all three monsters back to him. Kouga and his surviving wolves and wolf demons stared at the fox cub.   
  
"What?" Shippo asked. "Aren't you gonna thank me?" The wolves only gaped at him. "Oh, wel. You're welcome anyway!" Shippo said cheerfully as he bounded away to continue fighting.  
  
"What just happened?" Kouga asked, bewildered.  
  
"The fox child summoned a Wolf god to save us, master Kouga!" one of his cretins said, excitedly. "We should make him an honorary tribe member!"  
  
"Shut up!" Kouga ordered the lackey as he back handed him.  
  
"OW!" the wolf demon whimpered. "Yes master Kouga."   
  
"What are you all staring at?!" Kouga demanded. "Get back to fighting! NOW!"  
  
----------------------------------  
  
"Blue-eyes White Dragon!" Kaiba summoned. With a parting of the dark clouds above them, the dragon appeared and dived with thunder heads towards it's prey, Goro flung his two flails about wildly, striking the dragon time and time again, making the mythical creature cry and roar. When the dragon tried to crush him with his tail, Goro dived, and came up beneath it, striking it again.   
  
"Blue-eyes, white lightening attack!" Kaiba ordered. The dragon opened its massive jaws and blasted at Goro with white bursts of lighting bolts, which zapped and stung at him like daggers but even this was not enough. Goro twirled his massive flails and flew right down the throat of the dragon and out the other side. The Blue Eyes was destroyed and Kaiba was now defenseless. Goro rushed at Kaiba, and smiled a sinister smile.   
  
"I'll put a maggot whole in your head," Goro said, flinging his flails at Kaiba's exposed head. Kaiba flinched, awaiting his end… But hear instead the clash of metal on metal. Sesshomaru, half brother on Inu-yasha, blocked the flails with his sword, Tokijin, and forced Goro away from his captain. Then, with a second swing of the dark sword, Goro's body was severed in half, from head to mid-section. As the creature evaporated, Sesshomaru turned to Kaiba, gave a smile even more frightening than Goro's, and "Perhaps you should have taken Songo's offer to wear armor."  
  
"Not my style," Kaiba replied smugly.  
  
"Just as it is not your style to flinch?" Sesshomaru asked, giving a light kick to his two heade beast, and turning around.   
  
"Point taken," Kaiba said, following the general to the central battlefield.  
  
-----------------------------------  
  
Yugi/Yami, Joey, Tea, Tristan, Serenity, Mai, Duke, and Bakura rode through the throng, hacking, slashing, and clubbing all enemies that came in their path, dazzling the eye in their rainbow colored armor. Yugi/Yami in his aqua armor part3d the way with his pulse waves from the Millennium Puzzle, while Joey, in dark green, batted away at his opponents with the millennium staff. Tea in lightest violet stabbed at zombies that reached their decaying hands up to grab her. Serenity paralyzed the undead, and rode over them, as Tristan in yellow sliced their heads off with his battle axe. Duke, in orange, used two machetes to hack and slash and chop his way through enemy lines. With grace and ease, like a roll dice he moved among them. Bakura, in white armor, shot lightening bolts from the prongs that dangled from the Millennium Ring, which hung around his neck, followed by Mai in silver peach colored armor, who used her Millennium Eye to pierce the gazed of the zombies, and blind them, making them turn on their own kind.   
  
"Hurry!" Yugi/Yami shouted, "We must get two Inu-yasha!"   
  
"You will not get past me, King," Nibori said as he flew right into Yugi/Yami's face, and knocked him off his horse. Yugi/Yami stared at the demon, who had the stolen face of Joey, but eyes a cold, dead blue, and hair as balck as the darkest shadows. The Pharaoh drew the sword from off his back, and prepared to face him. He grasped at his puzzle, and yelled, "Dark Magician! Dark Magic Attack!" The Magician appeared, just in time to distract Nibori. As Yugi/Yami got up, he felt a hand grab his collar, and lift him up into a saddle.   
  
"Need a hand, Yuge?" Joey asked.  
  
"Always, my friend," Yugi/Yami said, turning his head to look at Joey.  
  
"Great, now let me take care of this bad photo copy," Joey said, hefting the Millennium Staff.  
  
"Right," Yugi/Yami agreed. Joey pulled the reins of his horse, and turned towards Nibori, who'd just dismembered the dark magician. The incarnation tuned around, smiling and laughing manically.  
  
"Come on, Yuge," Nibori squealed, "You know beat me!"  
  
" He can't," Joey said, raising his Staff, and tightening his grip on the reins, "But sure as h#&& can!!!" he screamed as he spurred his steed, and the horse soared above Nibori's head. As the demon Looked above him, at the underside of the horse, he felt something skewer in the stomach. The lower end of the Millennium Staff stuck out of his gut. He stared blankly as his intestines poured out of the hole.  
  
"Not bad…" Nibori whispered, "Gotta say, though…. That's kinda… hitting below… the belt…"  
  
"Actually," Joey said from behind him, "It's a little bit above it," the teen grunted as he pulled the Staff's end from Nibori's innards, and the demon's knees gave way, but he turned into fine dust, and floated away in the wind, before he even touched the ground.   
  
"Well Yuge?" Joey asked.  
  
"Joey," Yugi/Yami answered, "Let's go find Inu-yasha. I fear he has not fared any better than we have."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Joey asked, perplexed. "I'd say we fared pretty well."  
  
"We were fortunate to beat this incarnation of Naraku together. But Inu-yasha is up against the thing. And not just one of him, but two of him. He will need all of his friends to conquer his foe."  
  
"Right, Yuge," Joey said, spurring his horse, "Let's go!" He rode with his friends to the epicenter of battle where Inu-yasha and the two Naraku's fought bitterly.   
  
AN: Talax to Gargax; Agents Ferkin and Merkin have assumed human form, and taken over authorship of this story.  
  
Merkin: "Goody good good!"  
  
Real Author: Hey you two! Get the blankety blank out of here!  
  
Co-Author- swiftly gives aliens a kick in the pants.   
  
Real AN: Sorry folks. Everyone keeps trying to take over our fan fic, but we won't let em! We've got a whole army of Anime characters at the door, and we won't leave this office till we've churned out one of the greatest fan fics you've ever read! We vow it!!! 


	8. The Bonds of Time And Fellowship

AN: Here we are, folks! The gut wrenching, nauseating, conclusion!!!!  
  
Chapter Seven: The Bonds of Time And Fellowship  
  
Inu-yasha spun around and let the stroke of his sword fall. The earth rumbled as the ground split. The two Narakus leaped apart from one another and flew up into the air. Inu-yasha jumped up and followed them, taking swings, and clashing with them at every turn.  
  
"It is useless for us to battle any further.' The older Naraku said to the younger. "We must join forces to put an end to Inu-yasha."  
  
"On this one thing we agree." The Young Naraku replied. "I will help you. " They both sprayed their miasma at him and leaped through it like air.   
  
Inu-yasha held his breath and ran from the center of the dark, poisonous cloud, but no matter which way he ran, all he saw was shadows upon shadows. Some moved, but others didn't. He could feel Naraku's cold stare upon, but he knew not from where it came. After running on for a long while, his orientation thrown off by the mobile and immobile shadows, Inu-yasha felt his chest ache from holding his breath far too long. If he breathed in the toxic gas, he eventually would die. But if he passed out, he would be helpless to stop any attack from the mists. Inu-yasha thought about what to do… but he knew no matter what the choice, he would most likely die.   
  
'If I have to die,' Inu-yasha thought, 'I'm taking at least one of him with me!' He lifted his head, and strained his ears for any sound… any sound…  
  
"Inu-yasha!" a faint voice cried from what seemed like a great distance. "Inu-yasha!"   
  
-------------- "Dad!" a child's voce called. Inu-yasha looked, in the cloud with him, was a little boy, with black hair, and big brown eyes. He smiled, and ran to him. Suddenly Inu-yasha found himself no longer in the midst of Naraku's miasma, but in the serene garden of a feudal palace, befitting the emperor himself. The little boy had almost reached him, but the, turned, and looked at a door in the palace entrance. "Mom!" the boy called. "I found Daddy! He's in the garden." Inu-yasha looked over, and saw Kagome. She was dressed in jeans and a blouse, like she was in her own time. She was a little older now, her hair was shorter, and her eyes were just a little bit sadder, but as she picked up her son, she lokked more beautiful to him than anything on earth. Then, she suddenly turned her head to him, and said, "Inu-yasha…" ------------  
  
Inu-yasha snapped out of the vision. He was back in the miasma, but his lungs felt as if he'd just breathed in fresh, flower scented air. He could fight now. We would fight now; the miasma was clearing away.  
  
--------------------------------  
  
The two Naraku's watched their deadly miasma drift away, waiting to see a fallen Inu-yasha, but saw instead, his shadowed form striding from the very heart of the black mist.  
  
"Impossible!" they both cried. "He should have died," the older Naraku insisted. "He did die this way! I saw him die!"  
  
"Should have, could have, would have. I'm sorry, to disappoint you, but I ain't going down that easily. But you on the other hand are!" Inu-yasha raised his sword, and ran to them. The Naraku's turned to the right, but their escape was cut off by charging cavalry. It was lead by Yugi/Yami and his Millennium Item wielding comrades. The Narkau's leaped up to fly away, but they were stopped by Songo and Miroku on Kirara's back. They drifted to the ground, and made to the left, but saw Seshomaru's blank face racing towards them, his own soldiers behind him. And wolves encircled all around. They were backed up to the foot of the mountain, with nowhere to escape to. The ranks parted only once, to let Kagome through, The look inhere eyes was stronger, and colder, than even those of the dead Kikyo… She nocked an arrow on her bow. This was the end.   
  
"I will not die with you, old man," the young Naraku said as Inu-yasha approached.   
  
"You have no choice," the older Naraku said.   
  
"DON'T I?" the young Naraku asked, his and eyes grown wild with utmost fear and desperation. He grasped the Jewel, and imploded on himself. Then, burst apart into a thousand screaming demons. The creatures of evil and darkness went tearing off on all directions… disappearing.   
  
The Older Naraku had no such choices. Without the Jewel, or anything to absorb, he was helpless.  
  
"You die now," Inu-yasha uttered in a low growl. He lifted his sword, which now glowed not red, nor white, but the brightest, strongest gold as Yugi/Yami and all carriers of the Millenniums Items lent their power to him. The Tetsaiga swept down, and severed Naraku's body at an angle. The demon stood, his red, dying eyes locked with the golden orbs of Inu-yasha's eyes before his body turned into crystal, from head to foot. And burst apart into a million pieces of bright, glittering particles…  
  
"Now after the other one!" Inu-yasha cried, jumping on his steed and heading for the nearby woods.   
  
"Inu-yasha!" Kagome called. She jumped from her horse, and ran to his. She put her hand on his thigh, and looked up at him. "Wait Inu-yasha. We've already won a really great victory. Let's rest now. There'll plenty of time to go after the other Naraku later."  
  
"Don't you get it, you stupid girl?" Inu-yasha barked. "If we let him get away, then what good was killing the other one?!" Kagome looked up at him, flabbergasted, as she backed away. Inu-yasha reared his horse, and took off into the dark woods.   
  
All Kagome could do… was look on, and begin to cry.   
  
--------------------------------------  
  
Inu-yasha raced through the trees after the many parts of the younger Naraku. He was determined to finish this today, no matter the cost. But then, white mist slinked and curled around the ground and tree roots. His horse spurred and bucked.   
  
"Steady you stupid thing!" Inu-yasha ordered it, "I said, stoawww!!" he cried as he fell from the horse's back. The horse shied away from a human form walking to them from the fog.   
  
"What is this?" Inu-yasha asked. "What's going on?" he insisted as he drew his sword. Then, the figure emerged from the mist… It was… himself. Yes, Himself! Red armor and all. Only on this second Inu-yasha, the armor was covered in blood. The true Inu-yasha asked, "What is this? Another of Naraku's tricks?"  
  
"No, you idiot," the second Inu-yasha said, "I'm you."  
  
"Me?" the first asked.  
  
"Yes," pepeated the second. "You. The other you."  
  
"What are you talking about" the first demanded.  
  
"I'm talking about your broken brain and your big mouth," the second retorted. "You just won! You had your woman by your side, your friends behind, and your future in front of you. It's more than I got, I can tell you that. Now turn around and go home before you lose it for good."  
  
"Why should I listen to you?" the first Inu-yasha asked.  
  
"Because I've been there before. You're gonna get yourself killed if you don't. Do you have any idea how much trouble it was to get permission to come talk to you?"  
  
"Permission from who?" demanded the first Inu-yasha.  
  
"From me," said Serenity Wheeler, stepping now from the mist. She was dressed in white, and had gold bracelets up her arms. The Millennium Necklace, which hung around her neck, was glowing.   
  
"What are-?" the first Inu-yasha began to ask, but Serenity held up her hand.   
  
"Listen well, Inu-yasha," Serenity said. "He speaks the truth. If you continue down the destructive path you are on now, you will die. Did you know that time is filled with infinite possibilities? There are different choices we all can make, and those choices lead to different outcomes. I've seen them all, and not all of them are good. In one, you've been dead for over four months, and Kagome is in mourning. In another, you died on the battle field, taking the Jewel with you. In yet another-"  
  
"You die only a few short minutes from now," the second Inu-yasha finished.   
  
"Sounds like I'm destined to die no matter what I do." the first Inu-yasha said.  
  
"That's not true," Serenity told him. "If you turn around now, you have a chance. A chance for life and happiness. The vision you saw in the miasma was from me, but I also transported you there, to save you. It was real, Inu-yasha. You have a chance for that future. You have a chance to see your son grow up, and become strong, and healthy, and happy. Give him the chance to know his father. Give the both of you a chance top live." As Serenity said this, she and the second Inu-yasha disappeared. The path of his destiny lay before him, and behind him also. He closed his eyes, and thought. Listened. Remembered.  
  
-----------------------------------  
  
-------------- "Dad!"  
  
"My son" Inu-yasha whispered as the little boy waved to him. "Kagome," he said, as she materialized, and picked he boy up.   
  
"Inu-yasha," she answered. -------------  
  
--------------------------------------   
  
Kagome waited in the encampment, surrounded by her friends. She didn't know what to do. She wanted go out and find Inu-yasha, but everyone said it was too dangerous. How it could be more dangerous than the awful battle they'd just fought, she didn't understand. But she listened to them, and stayed in camp.   
  
"We want to go find him, too," Miroku said, "But we must have rest."  
  
"I know," Kagome said. "By the way, could you stop stroking my legs?" she asked through grtted teeth.  
  
"Oh yes," Miroku said, scooting away. "Sorry."  
  
"Don't be sad, Kagome," Shippo said. "At least we won."  
  
"But we may have lost Inu-yasha." Kagome moped.   
  
"If it helps," Miroku said, "My wind tunnel has shrunk. It means that Naraku is not as powerful as he once was."  
  
"That means you guys have a better chance at beating him," Little Yugi said.   
  
"If we find again," Songo said, "Now that he's weakened, he'll to ground, and hide away until he'd strong enough to emerge again."  
  
"Don't worry about Inu-yasha," Serenity said, smiling. "I'll have a feeling he'll make the right choice and come back to us."  
  
"What makes you so sure?" Kagome asked.   
  
"Yeah, he doesn't seem the kind to change his mind a lot," Joey remarked.   
  
"Oh, just call it a hunch," Serenity said, smiling innocently.   
  
"You've been up to something?" Joey said, eyeing his sister suspiciously.  
  
"Who, me?" Serenity asked, faking innocence. As twilight set in upon the afternoon, they company heard the sound of hurried hooves.   
  
Just then, Inu-yasha came riding out of the woods. He road into camp and dismounted his horse before the small city of tents and looked for his friends. When he found them again, he was so glad. He saw Kagome sitting by the fire with Yugi and the others.  
  
"Kagome!" He shouted to her. She looked up and when she saw him her heart raced.  
  
"Inu-yasha!" She exclaimed. Inu-yasha and Kagome ran to meet each other, they were both so overjoyed to be alive, and so were they all. Yugi, Joey, and the others were all so proud of the hard won victory that they'd achieved.  
  
"Kagome!" Inu-yasha cried.  
  
"Inu-yasha!" Kagome cheered.  
  
"Kagome."  
  
"Inu-yasha." They embraced . Their lips met like two parted lovers who'd finally found each other again after years and years of separation.  
  
"I was so worried when you went chasing off after Naraku into the woods. I was afraid you weren't coming back. You looked so crazed."  
  
"All that's over for now." Inu-yasha reassured her. "Right now I only want to be with you."  
  
"That's so sweet." Kagome said as she laid her head on his shoulder. Inu-yahsa's hand strayed down below her waist as he said, "Now, I get to enjoy the spoils of war."  
  
"The spoils of war!" Kagome exclaimed. "Is that what you think I am?" She demanded from him.  
  
"What, no, I didn't mean it that way." Inu-yasha tried to say but it was too late. Kagome jerked away from his arms, and stormed off. "Hey wait." Inu-yasha called, running after her, "Would you just wait a minute." He tried to grab at her arm but Kagome jerked away.  
  
"Sit boy!" she ordered.  
  
"Oh no!" Inu-yasha sighed as he was flung to the ground. At that, Joey, Yugi, Tristan, and Miroku came up to him while Kagome walked off with Songo, Shippo, Tea, Mai, Ayumi, and Serenity.  
  
"Dude, you totally blew it." Tristan said helping him up.  
  
"Yeah, I gotta admit that I've lost a lot respect for you after watching this." Joey agreed. Yugi just sighed at the han-you.   
  
Miroku shook his head, and muttered, "Not how I would have handled it."  
  
AN: Don't worry, It's really me :) Anyway, please review, and recommend this story to friends! 


	9. Epilogue

Epilogue  
  
"You get out of here, you mangy mutt!" Kagome's grandfather yelled from the house as Inu-yasha leaped from the kitchen window. "If you're trying to spoil my granddaughter's, you're after our food!" The old man burst from the front door, armed to the teeth with kitchen implements. As Inu-yasha ran to the steps of the newly completed well house, he skidded to a stop before crashing into Yugi,, Joey, Tristan, and Duke, who were all chowing on the stolen food.  
  
"You set me up!" Inu-yasha screamed.   
  
"Yup," little Yugi said, popping open a soda.   
  
"What are you babbling about?" Joey asked, tearing open a bag of chips.  
  
"We're just hungry, man," Tristan said.   
  
"Come back here!" Gramps yelled, wielding a butcher knife, a colander on his head. "I'll skin you alive and sell your pelt on the internet!"  
  
"Leave me alone, old man!" Inu-yasha pleaded as he ran around the mini shrine a few times.   
  
Sitting not far away, Bakura and Songo sat with Kaiba and Serenity.   
  
"They're at it again," Songo said, laying her head on Bakura's shoulder.   
  
"You'd think he'd learn," Kaiba said, as he put his arms around Serenity (who was quite comfortable in his lap). Out of nowhere, a big pink bubble floated around the tree, and asked, "Setto Kaiba, I challenge you to a duel!" and it promptly began to chew on his head. Kaiba lifted a pin, and said, "Lee me alone." as he popped poor Shippo's bubble. Shippo reappeared in his normal state, and glared at the millionaire.  
  
"Oh, play with him, Setto." Serenity said.  
  
"I refuse to have anything to do with that reject from a mink farm." Kaiba said sternly.  
  
"I'm a fox, heathen!!" Shippo cried, jumping up and down in a tantrum. "A FOX!"  
  
"What ever. I'm still not having anything to do with that mutant squirrel child."Kaiba said. Suddenly, the top of Miroku's staff smacked Kaiba in the head. "OW!"  
  
"He's a fox," Miroku said serenely, as he leaned against the sacred tree.   
  
----------------------------------------  
  
Sesshomaru looked out over the landscape. After his long journey, he'd finally returned. He walked down the gentle slope of the hill, and looked around the glade for…  
  
"Lord Sesshomaru!" his squire Jaken squealed. "Oh how wonderful that' you've made it back alive! As you see, I have kept our camp in perfect order since you left. I bet your victory was -"  
  
"Where is she?" Sesshomaru asked.   
  
"What, milord?" Jaken asked. He felt the rock bash him in the head. The lump sprung from his head immediately.   
  
"Rin," Sesshomaru said. "Where is she?"  
  
"Lord Sesshomaru!" the girl's voice rang out, like sweet music. She came running up from the distance, with a garland of white flowers on her head, and a second one in her hands. She ran up to the you-kai, and hugged him. "I missed you so much! I knew you would come back. I made this for you," she said, putting the garland on his snowy head. "Now we're king and princess of the forest." she said, smiling sweetly at him. Jaken gagged behind them as Sesshomaru picked Rin up in his arm, and carried her to the shade of a nearby tree, to listen of her and Jaken's many 'adventures' while he was gone.  
  
-----------------------------------------  
  
The darkness of the Pharaoh's tomb was broken only by the torch light. Li Zhou kicked and writhed in the chains that bound him to the wall as the tomb keepers approached, and withdrew their hoods from their heads.   
  
"No!" Li Zhou cried. "No! I won't go back! You cannot make me! Not there! Not to the Shadows!"  
  
"Amon, I banish you now to the Land of Shadows forever, bound for eternity within this Millennium Ring, for the high crimes you have committed here," Shadi said as he lifted the Millennium Scales. The Ring and Scale glowed as Li Zhou felt his all of himself being sucked into the depths of the Ring. Hefelt the creatures of the shadow paw and scratch at his face, and the darkness seeped all around him…  
  
"NO!" he shrieked. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"   
  
The End.   
  
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AN: Well folks, it's been a swell, strange journey along this road. We hate to say goodbye. We'd like to thank everyone who sent in reviews for all the stories, but we especially want to thank Mikogirl and Poison Death Tree, who've remained our loyal fans throughout the entire series. You've given good advice and lots of opinions, and for that we thank you. It's readers like you that keep Fan Fiction alive, and worth writing. Also, because of all you guys, what started as a dream I had became a full blown phenomenom. I only hope that my, and my brother's, future endeavors will be as well received as these have been….   
  
TTFN! 


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